Volunteer Space - The Platform for Championing VolunteersLauren Harvison, Volunteer Space

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So What is the Problem?And How Do We Fix It?

Volunteering is a meaningful way to give back to the community and causes that people care about. People of all ages and backgrounds often express interest in donating their time to the likes of local charities, clubs and

councils. However, finding the right volunteers to fill specific roles can be challenging for an organisation. From a volunteer’s perspective, the process of applying for a position can also be time-consuming and long winded. Many

people struggle to find a placement, are seldom rewarded for their hard work, and find themselves discouraged throughout the process.

Time is precious for both volunteer and coordinator. Staff are often resigned to spending hours managing their volunteers, recruiting new people and chasing a constant paper trail of applications, CV’s and references.

Volunteers – who are willingly giving up their time for free – also shouldn’t have to keep guessing the status of their application, and ought to be recognised for their commitment.

  Both volunteer and coordinator need to be set free.

Amelia works at a local charity as a volunteer coordinator, supporting volunteers and ensuring they have an enjoyable and rewarding experience through volunteering. The problem Amelia has is recruiting, retaining, and rewarding her dedicated helpers when she spends

her day trying to do a million different tasks at once. It's impossible to keep track of everyone and everything. Amelia is always fielding emails from new applicants asking about the progress of their paperwork and spends much of her time trying to communicate with

volunteers via email, text and face to face meetings. Her job is to ensure that volunteers are safe and that they have the right training to perform their roles. As a result she's constantly looking through disorganised and unfriendly spreadsheets. Additionally, Amelia is often

asked to provide references and feedback to volunteers, particularly students who are applying to university. 

Amelia requires an automated service to reduce the burden that volunteer management has on her time. This will allow her to dedicate more of her focus to volunteer development and happiness as well as retaining the volunteers the organisation so urgently needs.

Amelia requires a medal for her patience.

AmeliaVolunteer Development Officer

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We need a simple, engaging, organising, process knowing, admin loving, opportunity grabbing,

service delivering, facility defending, rewarding, skill matching, cost saving, location searching, hour logging,

medal giving, training, incentivising, event managing, skills delivering, feedback giving, value added,

time saving, budget defending, community champion.

- Amelia, Volunteer Support Officer

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Rebecca is a full-time mum who volunteers one day a week for a local charity whose mission is to help people without a home. She finds it enjoyable, social, and she loves making a difference in her community. Rebecca also hopes to go back to work part time in the next couple of years as her children grow older. She knows that

volunteering is a great way to learn new skills and will benefit her CV when she starts searching for employment. However, she currently has no way of showcasing her volunteer contributions. The hours she’s

donated remain untracked and she has no collated feedback or recommendations. Rebecca’s time is precious and she should be thanked for her years of dedicated service. She should also be able to easily find

and apply for new volunteer opportunities that might interest her within the organisation. 

Rebecca needs to right tools for her enthusiasm.

RebeccaCommunity Champion Volunteer

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I need a simple, engaging, organising, process knowing, administrating, opportunity seeking,

service supporting, facility promoting, rewarding, skill matching, email saving, location searching, hour logging, medal giving, training offering, incentivising, event managing,

skills monitoring, feedback giving, time saving, CV benefiting, last minute,

good citizen stage.

- Rebecca, Wannabe Good Samaritan

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Thanks Rebecca, we have just the thingAnd Amelia, we’re about to give you that medal you deserve…

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A platform where Amelia can search for new

volunteers 

By Location By Date

By Category By Skills

By Interests

(and Rebecca can search for new opportunities)

A profile where Rebecca can showcase herself and track her efforts over time

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Display the number of hours she's volunteered Tell everyone a bit about herself Record her skills and interests

List Awards and badges she's received  Training undertaken Appreciation given

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And earn awardsFrom hours donated to appreciation shared to training received

10 20 50 100 150 200 300 400 5001000 2000 3000

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And most importantly, Amelia…

Manage her organisation and current opportunities Communicate with and organise her volunteers

Create new opportunities Give volunteers feedback

Create and schedule volunteer training Keep track of qualifications and when they expire

Check out volunteers skills and interest Request and store CV's and references Keep volunteers engaged- retain them

Reward excellence and dedication

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Your time has become much more efficientAnd those services which would have disappeared are still doing good within your community

Alacrity House Kingsway Newport

NP20 1HG

01633 259517

volunteerspace.co.uk info@volunteerspace.co.uk

Thank you for your timeVolunteer Space