Following the recent launch of VAO’s Supported Volunteering initiative, the first Volunteer Mentors have now been recruited and trained, and they will be ready to start working with volunteers who need a little support early next year.
Having established that some face barriers to volunteering, this initiative aims to make it possible for more people to get involved in local groups and organisations. By being paired with a mentor, these individuals will now be able to feel the benefits of volunteering. These include becoming more connected in the community, improved health and wellbeing and gaining the skills needed to find employment.
A total of 3 Volunteer Mentors took part in the mentor training which was developed and led by our Supported Volunteering Co-ordinators. The purpose of the course which ran over 3 sessions, was prepare the mentors to:
- Support vulnerable people as they begin volunteering in their community
- Build trust through listening, consistency and empathy
- Safely and confidently guide volunteers through administrative and practical tasks
- Understand and uphold safeguarding, boundaries and confidentiality
- Reflect on their role- knowing what is and is not their responsibility
Stephanie was one of the mentors who completed the training. She said:
As this is new, the coordinators did a fantastic job delivering training which was meaningful and easy to understand, while working through new possibilities as they came up in discussions. I’m really looking forward to helping someone to start their volunteering experience. Hopefully I’ll be able to support them to make it as easy as possible, and they gain confidence to get the most out of their experience. I’m really excited to see how things go!
In the new year, the next step will be for the Supported Volunteering Co-ordinators to team up each of the newly trained Volunteer Mentors with their volunteer so they can offer them support and encouragement on their volunteering journey.
We are still looking for Volunteer Mentors so that more people can be supported. If you would like more information about the role, you can find the details in our Volunteering Opportunities section. You can also contact Hannah and Katherine our Supported Volunteering Co-ordinators by filling out the form below.
