Looking for volunteers?

Volunteer Centre Derby @ Derby CVS - The place to come for volunteering in Derby.

We have been providing a valued and successful service in the City for over twenty years. We now see over 600 volunteers face to face as well as over 800 across the internet, that's 1400 potential new volunteers every year! This is double the number we've seen in previous years. We work with hundreds of organisations that offer high quality opportunities for volunteers.

What we're aiming to do

We're here to increase the number of people volunteering in the City. We particularly want to encourage people who are normally excluded from volunteering.

How we do it

  • We promote volunteering and provide information and advice to people who want to volunteer.
  • We collect information from our members about opportunities to volunteer, we share this with people who want to volunteer.
  • We support organisations who use volunteers so they can be successful in getting and keeping volunteers.

What we offer volunteer involving organisations

  • The chance to register your opportunities on our database of volunteering in Derby. This is used by the whole team so that we can give information to the potential volunteers we work with. We then pass on details of potential volunteers we see or speak to who are interested in your opportunities.
  • Your opportunity advertised on the website www.do-it.org.uk the only national volunteering database, for free. We receive over 800 enquiries a year from this site.
  • The chance for your opportunity to be advertised in the local press and radio.
  • You have the opportunity to come to our workshop sessions, focusing on issues such as volunteers and the law, marketing and other key areas of volunteer management.
  • A quarterly newsletter telling you all the latest news and information. This includes feedback we get from volunteers and news from the national volunteering world.
  • Advice and information on volunteer management. This includes where to get training, examples of policies and good practice, getting money for volunteer management and what's happening on the regional and national scene.
  • An information source for you to refer volunteers to, especially if you can't offer them a suitable opportunity.
  • An organisation that's interested in feedback and improving the service we offer.
  • We will also forward your details to other Volunteer Centres in the region if you would like us to.

What are your responsibilities?

  • You need to register with us and keep us up to date with information on volunteering opportunities you have. The information we collect helps volunteers get all the details they need. You can download our registration form by clicking here.
  • You'll need to screen volunteers according to your recruitment policy. We do not take references or do Disclosures (CRB checks). We can advise on interviewing, selecting and screening volunteers.
  • You do not have to take on the volunteer we refer to you. If they are not suited to the opportunity please refer them back to us so we can make sure they still get to volunteer.
  • You need to share our commitment to increasing diversity and challenging any sort of discrimination or barriers that may stop people getting involved.
  • You need to make sure you meet your legal responsibilities, for example your insurance for volunteers and health and safety requirements.

What to do if you have a problem with our service

  • Tell us what the problems are and hopefully we'll be able to meet with you and sort out any difficulties.
  • If this informal approach doesn't work out you can follow our complaint procedure.

What we'll do if you're not doing your bit

  • We need to make sure volunteers get a good service, otherwise we risk putting them off volunteering. However, we do recognise that some organisations are very small or are not as developed as others. We'll always take this into account.
  • If you don't do your bit we'll get in contact and speak to you about the situation. We'll offer any support and information you might need so that you can do what we ask.
  • If you still can't do what we ask of you we may have to stop offering our service to you. We'll tell you exactly why we've done this.

How do we keep in contact?

  • Call us on 01332 342272
  • Email us at volunteering@volunteeringderby.co.uk
  • Pop in and see us at Derby CVS, 4 Charnwood Street, Derby
  • Or you can write for free to Volunteer Centre Derby, Derby CVS, Freepost DY741, 4 Charnwood Street, Derby, DE1 9BR

We are keen that the written work we produce is clear and that our forms are easy to use. We want to make sure it's easy for you to work with us and tell us about your needs.

We always look for ways to improve what we do. We always welcome feedback on our service in whatever way you want to tell us.