Volunteering Ireland

• Advocacy
• Organisational development
• Research
• Promoting volunteering
• Inclusive volunteering
• Infrastructure development

• To inspire everyone to become involved and make the best contribution that they can through volunteering.

• To promote volunteering and active citizenship in all it’s forms to the public, media, organisations and policy makers.

• To support organisations in developing skills to make volunteering a fulfilling and rewarding experience for both the organisations and the volunteers.

• To celebrate volunteering.

• Advocacy: We act as a representative voice to government and in public arenas, both in Ireland and internationally, on all matters relating to volunteering, seeking to inform policy and raise awareness.

• Research: We undertake research in areas relating to volunteering in Ireland in order to understand, to inform and to provide evidence that shapes policy and drives change.

• Organisational Development: We work with organisations to develop the services and skills necessary for the effective involvement of volunteers.

• Raising Awareness and Promoting Volunteering: We promote and celebrate volunteering through various projects and events to highlight the value of volunteering and the contribution made by volunteers to Irish society.

• Infrastructure Development: We contribute to the development of structures, systems and skills and build capacity to create an enabling environment for volunteering in Ireland and overseas.

• The Ireland Involved Awards are the annual national volunteer awards, which recognise and celebrate the contribution of volunteers across the country. The overall awardee goes on to represent Ireland at the European Award for Voluntary Contribution.

• The Safeguard Programme is an awareness-raising and capacity-building programme to protect children and vulnerable adults by identifying and developing best practice for overseas development agencies that involve volunteers. The service is being developed in partnership with overseas development agencies and the Garda Central Vetting Bureau.
  

• Ireland Involved Online is a new web-based platform for involving, engaging and managing volunteers. This platform will combine a volunteer management system, enabling organisations to communicate with and manage their volunteers, with a portal website providing information for individuals and companies about how to get involved with their local community and voluntary organisations.

• The Professional Association of Volunteer Managers Ireland (PAVMI) is a peer support network of individuals, both voluntary and paid, who spend the majority of their time directing, managing or coordinating the work of volunteers. PAVMI’s mission is to develop the profession of volunteer management in Ireland.
  

• Dublin City North Volunteer Centre is a local programme of Volunteering Ireland that offers a range of supports and services to organisations, volunteers and companies at a local level and pilots new initiatives.
  

• Dublin City Volunteer Week is an annual week of events and festivities that celebrate, recognise and showcase the diverse and exciting ways in which people in Dublin engage with their communities through voluntary action.
  

• Building international support and lobbying for volunteering: Volunteering Ireland works as part of an international community of practice for the development of volunteering on a worldwide basis. We represent Ireland at the European Volunteer Centre (CEV) and the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE).

• The European Year of Volunteering 2011 is a year of activities to encourage and support volunteering in the European Union and to increase the visibility of voluntary activities in the EU. Volunteering Ireland has been designated the National Coordinating Body that will be responsible for the planning, coordination and organisation of events and activities in Ireland during the European Year.

• The 22nd IAVE World Volunteer Conference 2012 will be held by Volunteering Ireland in September 2012 in Dublin, Ireland, with a theme of “Volunteering and Human Rights”. The conference will bring together distinguished international speakers; expert trainers and presenters; and leaders from the worlds of volunteering, NGOs, researchers, government and the corporate sector.