CVA relies on volunteers; people give their time in a variety of ways to support our work.
For example we have a board of Trustees who give up their time to run Croydon Voluntary Action, you can read more about our Trustees here
The CVA Resource Centre has a team of reception volunteers who are often the first point of contact for people using our services. We offer training and support which has helped many of our volunteers find paid work.
People can get involved in a huge variety of projects as active citizens such as with Croydon Healthwatch Pathfinder by visiting health and care premises as an ‘Authorised Representatives’, or become a representative for the Older People’s Network.
CVA promotes all our volunteering opportunities on Do-it.org.uk
Why does CVA invest in Volunteer Management?
CVA Trustees and Staff are committed to providing a high quality volunteering experience. We know that we benefit hugely by having volunteers involved with our work. Some of the key benefits have been indentified as:
- our volunteers bring insight and empathy to our project delivery
- we can access skills and expertise
- we can model effective volunteer involvement
- because it helps people get a foot on the ladder by offering experience and training
- it links us directly to our local community
- volunteers help us deliver more services, more efficiently
- we can invest in the future by developing the skills and knowledge of our community
How CVA supports and celebrates their volunteers?
However someone contributes their time to CVA they will receive support and recognition. We have formal CVA Volunteer Policy and Procedures, this includes recruitment processes, induction and support systems. When a project involves people in a more informal way appropriate support provisions will have been put in place. CVA is keen to encourage involvement and participation in a variety of flexible ways.
We celebrate and recognise the value of our volunteers in a variety of ways, some recent examples include:
British Sign Language introductory session for CVA volunteers
Nominations for the local Civic Awards (Well Done to Croydon Xpress volunteers for winning –read more here)
Christmas party with a visit from Santa
Inclusion in CVA’s Annual Report
Making a record of positive volunteering stories
It is important for CVA to understand the motivation of those who volunteer with us as we are committed to helping people reach their goals.
To find out more about volunteering with CVA you can:
Search the Do-it.org.uk website
Contact CVA projects directly
Or contact the Volunteer Centre 020 8253 7070 volunteers@cvalive.org.uk