Press release - Volunteering Hub to showcase sector skills

16 November 2006
For immediate release

The Volunteering Hub is set to inspire and inform the volunteering sector with two conferences in the New Year.

The “Tools of the Trade” one-day events will take place in London on 24 January and in Leeds on 20 February. Internationally renowned volunteering expert Susan Ellis will be the guest speaker at the conferences, which will showcase the practical resources and initiatives developed by the Volunteering Hub.

Highlights include:

• An introduction to using the national Occupational Standards for Managing Volunteers
• The Investing in Volunteers toolkit
• The Excellence in Volunteer Management training programme
• Details of the new funding model for Volunteer Centres
• The online Good Practice Bank
• The launch of the ultimate toolkit for Volunteer Centre managers.

Barbara Regnier, Director of Volunteering Management and Leadership at Volunteering England, said:

“The Tools of the Trade conferences provide an opportunity for anyone who works with volunteers to acquire practical skills and resources from some of the most inspiring and experienced people in the sector. I would encourage anyone who wants to learn more about how to make volunteer management a most rewarding experience, and gain a professional qualification on the way, to attend.”

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Notes to Editors:

• For more information and to arrange interviews, call Cat Dean on 020 7520 8932; email cat.dean@volunteeringengland.org . During out of office hours, please call Sonya Roberts on: 07952 128057

• Volunteering England is the accountable body for the activity of the Volunteering Hub. The Volunteering Hub will work to achieve the ChangeUp high level objective that by 2014 there will be a leaner, effectively marketed and high quality volunteering infrastructure reaching, recruiting and placing a greater number and diversity of individuals coupled with improved volunteer management.

• The London conference will be held at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, on 24 January 2007. The Leeds conference will be held at the park Plaza Hotel, Leeds, on 20 February. For more details and to book places, please visit www.volunteering.org.uk/events , or call Nikki Shuttleworth on 020 7520 8928, email events@volunteeringengland.org

Volunteering England’s mission is to support an increase in the quality, quantity, impact and accessibility of volunteering throughout England. It aims to raise awareness of volunteering and its value to society in all sectors and to secure a sustainable volunteering infrastructure that promotes and enables volunteering and community involvement.