The help we can offer for organisations in the voluntary sector
Volunteer Coordinators Forum
There has been much talk over the last couple of years about having a forum for the Volunteer Coordinators in Tameside. September 29th 2005 was the date of the inaugral meeting of the Volunteer Coordinators Forum. The meeting was held at New Chapel in Denton, but will work its way round Tameside for the quarterly meetings. 18 volunteer recruitment organisations were present, and it is hoped that we can build on this number. The feedback from the event was most encouraging; with 100% of the attendees declaring that the lunch was excellent. Our guests were Dan and Carol from North-West Network, who gave a presentation on the value of coaching for volunteer managers. They hope to get funding to give coaching for volunteer co-ordinators, and this will be working in partnership with Volunteer Centre Tameside.
We realise how busy you all are and for that reason, the meetings are held over the lunch period and food is provided. We meet quarterly, and it's a chance for you to network with other volunteer coordinators in the area. In addition to the networking opportunities, there's usually also time for a small training session. Topics of past forums have included radio interview technique and a guide to writing press-releases.
We recognise that being a Volunteer Coordinator can be quite isolating and we hope that these events will be an opportunity to share issues, take part in training and have a voice within the voluntary and community sector. It will also provide an opportunity to stay informed about changes to volunteering that are happening both locally and nationally.