Media Centre

Phil Hope, Minister for Third Sector and the East Midlands, today visited staff and volunteers at Nottingham Volunteer Centre to see the work carried out by the centre and learn more about the financial and social challenges currently facing many of the 300+ Volunteer Centres across the country.

An outstanding group of influential figures spanning the private, public and voluntary sectors have joined forces to shape the world of volunteering.Volunteering England, the national Development Agency for volunteering, are leading on implementing ‘Manifesto for Change’ from The Commission on the Future of Volunteering. Volunteering England has secured the commitment and enthusiasm of over seventy industry figures to deliver long lasting change to the volunteering world.

Volunteering could help people live longer and is good for their health and well-being, according to a report published today, which looks at the impact of volunteering on health.

With just 14% of small businesses currently taking advantage of employer supported volunteering (ESV) schemes, Volunteering England has today launched a campaign asking small and medium sized businesses to give more help to charities.

“A silent army of volunteers working behind the scenes in the health service is providing an invaluable service,” said Dr. Justin Davis Smith, Chief Executive of Volunteering England. “The findings from this report clearly show that voluntary work of this kind not only helps the NHS, but also the community and the volunteers themselves.”

Barclays and Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD) have simultaneously achieved accreditation for their volunteering programme in a unique tripartite pilot project. As a result of the new initiative, subsidised by Volunteering England, the bank achieved the Investing in Volunteers for Employers quality mark at the same time as their charity partner being awarded Investing in Volunteers. Both parties worked with trained IiV assessors and were advised throughout the process by Volunteer Centre Westmin

Volunteering England welcomes the Government’s Action Plan on the long-term benefits of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics but says the Government needs to act fast to resource the infrastructure to recruit and develop volunteers for the Games and to sustain the volunteering legacy beyond 2012.

Students from across the Yorkshire and Humber region will be performing in a volunteering showcase on 24 May at Leeds Gallery demonstrate the valuable contribution they make to local communities in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Mike Locke has been appointed to the newly created role of Director of Public Affairs at Volunteering England (VE), the national development agency for volunteering.

Sport clubs can now measure the impact of their volunteers thanks to a new set of tools available from Volunteering England and the Institute of Volunteering Research. The web-based tools are available for sport organisations to use and are the first of its kind specifically designed for sport organisations.

Government should focus on the quality not just the quantity of volunteering opportunities according to the first ever research into the capacity of the sector to manage volunteers.

Volunteering England (VE) is today launching a comprehensive series of resources to help the voluntary and community sector and small businesses maximise their impact in their communities.

Volunteering England (VE) is today launching a comprehensive series of resources to help the voluntary and community sector and small businesses maximise their impact in their communities.

“Volunteering England is very pleased with this evidence that Government has taken the message to “place volunteering in the DNA of our society” to heart and has listened on so many levels to the views of the sector and the general public.

Creative agency eatsleepthink is helping national volunteering development agency Volunteering England raise its profile among the country’s 20 million volunteers through the pro bono creation of design and publicity materials for its national convention.

Justin Davis Smith, Chief Executive of Volunteering England, said:

“Volunteering England is very supportive of the Platform 2 youth volunteering scheme and welcomes the opportunities it offers young people who would not otherwise have the opportunity to volunteer abroad.

New volunteers are more motivated by learning new skills or improving their career than their more experienced counterparts, according to new research published today. The Changing and Non Changing Faces of Volunteering, by the Institute for Volunteering Research and the National Centre for Social Research, reveals how most newcomers to volunteering are in their 20s and 30s and recommends that this should be reflected in more imaginative and targeted recruitment methods.

Less than a third of student volunteering workers believe volunteering is a priority for their college

Volunteering England is urging students to help top last year’s record-breaking involvement in Student Volunteering Week at its launch today.

Volunteering England is today urging the Department of Health, and health and social care managers to involve volunteers more effectively in their organisations and encourage their own staff to volunteer, in response to the challenges raised by the Commission on the Future of Volunteering.

Volunteering England (VE) is today urging the public and voluntary sectors to raise their game in order to meet the challenges issued by the Commission on the Future of Volunteering in its Manifesto.

Companies should offer paid leave and a greater choice of activities if they are to successfully engage staff in community projects, according to new research from Volunteering England’s Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR) and the National Centre for Social Research. Half of the employees questioned about their organisation’s volunteering scheme said that having paid time off would encourage them “a lot” to participate, and nearly as many (42%) would be motivated by a wider range of volunt

Justin Davis Smith has pledged to strengthen Volunteering England’s voice and influence on public policy while retaining independence from government following his appointment as Chief Executive of the country’s leading volunteering development agency.

Volunteering England (VE) is looking for hundreds of 16-25 year-olds to be part of a groundbreaking virtual volunteering project that will help over 20 national and international charities “youth proof” their websites.