Terrence Higgins Trust's London office has contributed a copy of the letter which they send to potential volunteers.
Kindly contributed by and copyright to Terrence Higgins Trust (THT)
Please note: please bear in mind that this letter has been created for a specific organisation in a specific context, and should therefore be used as a guide rather than adopted wholesale. For further information, please visit our 'top tips on using the Good Practice Bank'.
We like this letter because it clearly explains how volunteers help THT to fulfil its aims and is positive about including volunteers with different needs and motivations. It highlights the support and training which is available and suggests a variety of ways for people to find out more about volunteering with THT. It's good to give a broad range of options, such as enclosing further information, giving telephone and email contact details, signposting to THT's website and offering a choice of dates for orientation events.
It also helpfully gives some background information about the organisation to potential volunteers, explaining that THT and a charity called the Lighthouse merged in 2000, and that volunteers may still see the names or logos of both organisations. It's a good idea to clarify this early in the recruitment process, to avoid any confusion for new volunteers.
