For week three we will be discussing a new feature whose beginnings you may have spotted and wondered about in our last release; trusted providers.
Trusted Providers
Trusted providers have an elevated set of privileges compared to your regular providers. The could represent for instance, providers that are internal to your organisation, or those that have received extra training.
To add the trusted status just use the button in the provider management page. You can also use the new provider search pages to change the status of multiple providers in one go.
What are Trusted Providers?
Trusted providers have some extra abilities over your regular providers;
Their new opportunities are auto authorised
They can add criminal check and induction required status to their opportunities
They can add any volunteer to a session, not just those that have already joined one of their sessions or that is linked to them
World Mental Health Day is a day of global mental health awareness and education, which aims to eliminate the stigma behind mental health. Life, as we all know, can be difficult and these problems can arise and affect many of us in a whole range of ways. How our bodies cope with this can have different effects on our mind and soul. Before we judge one another be mindful of what that person may have gone through, what wars they may have battled and what obstacles they may have overcome or maybe overcoming. It’s time to leave our judgmental thoughts and started looking after each other. The world we live in today faces too much animosity and hostility. We must all learn to love and get along with one another, we all live in one world – it’s time we became one and start working together.
Mental Health in the UK
Around one in four people in the UK will suffer from mental health issues each year, while only one in eight people are receiving treatment for mental health. One in six people in England each week suffer from a common mental health issue such as depression and anxiety.
A total of 70.9 million prescriptions for anti-depressants were given out in England in 2018 by the NHS. This is an increase of 3.4 million from 2017 to 2018. From 2015 to 2018 the number of prescriptions for anti-depressants for young people increased by almost 1 million! From these figures, it is clear to say mental health is an issue which is rising in the UK.
Causes of mental health issues
Mental health issues can affect people for a wide range of reasons. Trauma, loss, isolation, abuse, unemployment and the list keeps going. For many individuals, it’s a various combination of factors/experiences which have lead to negative outcomes. Yet everyone is different, one person’s mental stability will have different variances to what they are more tolerant of than others.
Social media
Over the last decade, social media has grown dramatically making each and every one of us more connected than we ever have been. Developing relationships which are halfway around the world is now a reality. On average a person in the UK checks their phone 28 times per day! It often makes me think what has the world come to, is this right? or is this wrong? or is this just the world we live in today and this is merely just evolution?
Implications of social media
The bottom line is that social media can have a detrimental effect on our mental health. Especially on the younger generation. Who are almost dependable on their mobile device, almost feeling lost without it. I know myself only being 20 that I do find it hard to break away from my device, I’m not proud of this and I do wish I could separate away more easily. Essentially social media is minimizing the human connections we make with one another. Limiting our social and communication skills in the real world because our heads are buried way beneath endless tweets and trending hashtags. Taking us away from the real world and keeping us trapped in virtual reality. Where we only care about our virtual selves and how others view us on various social platforms.
Low self-esteem is something young people suffer with when scrawling down photoshop perfect Instagram profiles. Where the immaculate and perfect image is captured – after hours upon hours of makeup editing and light adjustments! A study found people suffer from envy and self-doubt, as a result of comparing their own lives to those which are deemed to have the perfect lavish lifestyles we apparently all crave.
This leads me to say that it’s no wonder that social media is leading to unhappiness in people if used without caution. Causing anxiety and depression. We’re in a constant battle with ourselves to be better than everyone else, to look and dress the best, when really we should be happy and comfortable in our own skins. However many of generation Z have realised their infatuation with their smartphones and social media and have begun to quit various platforms. In an attempt to restore their mental health.
Volunteering and Mental Health
Volunteering can significantly boost your mental health and well-being. Mental and emotional well-being was found to be better in those who volunteer frequently, and worse in those who didn’t offer their help in any form. Recently universities in Birmingham and Southampton conducted a survey of 5,000 households across the UK. Those that volunteered regularly scored six per cent higher on the health and wellbeing.
Older generations
Voluntary work done by those over the age of 65 is set to be worth £5bn more in 2020 than it was in 2010. Volunteering provides a purpose and meaning, especially to older people who may find themselves more isolated than they used to be. Allowing them to build a social network of friends in which they can meet up with on a regular basis improving the well-being of the volunteer. The association is simple, the higher your well-being the more inclined you will feel to help others. Vice versa, the more you help others the higher your state of well-being.
Unemployed
Those in unemployment tend to have lower self-esteem and mental health. Without employment, people find it hard to motivate themselves for the day ahead. They have no structure, paid income, and feel they have less of an identity. Voluntary work will be able to benefit someone who is unemployed, helping them regain structure in life. Although the work is unpaid and will not be able to replace that aspect, it still gives people meaning and purpose.
Employers are more likely to employ someone has done voluntary work, over someone who has not. Volunteering allows you to acquire skills and knowledge which can be put to good use in employment, demonstrating higher levels of productivity as a potential employee. Also, it’s not just about what you know, it’s who you know to get you in the front door! Volunteering allows people to network giving them the opportunity to meet people they may never have met before, which could lead to great employment opportunities further on.
On a final note
As many of you already know TeamKinetic is a strong believer in volunteering and all the good in which can come from volunteering. But today the most important message of all is to be aware of mental health issues globally. If you suffer from mental health issues seek help and seek advice, don’t be afraid to talk to.
See below specialist mental health services.
The Samaritans offer emotional support 24 hours a day, in full confidence. Call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org.
Mind provides information on a range of mental health topics to support people in their own area from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm, Monday to Friday. Call 0300 123 3393 or email info@mind.org.uk.
Anxiety UK runs a helpline staffed by volunteers with personal experience of anxiety from 9:30-5:30, Monday to Friday. Call 08444 775 774.
MindEd is a free educational resource on children and young people’s mental health for all adults.
Welcome to week two of our pre-release introductions to the new features coming in TeamKinetic 1.4.
This week we will be focusing on the new features in the add opportunity page and when searching for opportunities.
Adding a New Opportunity
When your admins or providers add a new opportunity they will now be given an immediate choice of whether they wish to create a complete or a quick advert opportunity.
If they choose the quick opportunity type they will be presented with a much reduced option list for the opportunity. This is aimed at people that either don’t have much idea of what the final opportunity details will be, but want to get on and start recruiting, or for those organisations that will probably be managing the post sign up process themselves.
The resulting opportunity will be a flexible opp that is set to start immediately and will run continuously.
Once created the provider and admins will have full control over the opportunity and can add further details, or convert to a session based opportunity at anytime.
We have also updated and we hope simplified adding sessions to an opportunity. We’ve taken out some of the confusing language around the types of opportunities you can add and instead just asked them to make a choice between an opportunity with sessions and a flexible opportunity without sessions.
If a user picks the session based opportunity they can then choose a recurring session structure or can add the sessions individually.
Searching Existing Opportunities
For 1.4 we have a great new set of features for searching and filtering opportunities.
You’ll notice straight away that this is very different from our previous opportunity search page!
You can now page through the results, add filters, download the results and perform bulk actions on the opportunities by clicking the checkboxes at the start of each row.
This type of search table will be appearing throughout the application in future version and is already implemented for volunteer and provider searching complete with custom field filtering.
TeamKinetic v1.4 will be released on November 5th, there will be fireworks and parties all across the UK!
1.4 is a big release where we have brought together many requests for new features and also importantly we have made big steps towards unifying the interface to create a consistent experience everywhere.
1.4 will probably be our last new feature focus release for a good while. The next few releases will be focused on continuing the unifying process, improving the foundations, continuing our accessibility improvements and tidying all those loose ends up.
We have added a brand new email editor so that you can customise over 30 of the TeamKinetic automated emails.
New Searching for Volunteers, Providers and Opportunities
Completely rewritten search pages for volunteers, providers and opportunities. Much clearer and cleaner layout with row and bulk actions, paging, and filters.
Search for Volunteers by Custom Field
Custom fields are included in the filters, so you can filter and search for volunteers by all the profile and registration fields you have added.
Ability to Customise Your Genders & Ethnicities
Add, remove,re-order and re-map your gender and ethnicity results. These custom lists will also be reflected in the reports and downloads.
Collect ‘other’ Ethnicity and Gender
If registering volunteers select OTHER from the gender or ethnicity list they will be presented with a text box where they can enter their self identified gender or ethnicity.
You can use the new custom gender and ethnicity management shown above, to view, add and map these other entries.
Trusted Providers
Providers can now be marked as TRUSTED, this means that they will have additional privileges including:
Ability to add ANY volunteer to their opportunities (not just the providers limited cohort of volunteers).
Only allow trusted providers to create opportunities which require CRIMINAL RECORD checks.
Trusted provider opportunities can be auto-authorised.
Set Maximum Volunteers PER SESSION
When creating or editing opportunities you are now able to set a maximum volunteer limit on each session independently. When creating repeating opportunities each session will default to the same maximum but you can then adjust these session by session if required.
Define Time Gaps Between Sessions
Need to define a minimum gap between session that a volunteer can join? Now you can!
If you are hosting an event you may want to enforce a time limit gap to prevent a volunteer joining two opportunity sessions with not enough time to get from one to the other. You can now define the allowable time gap between these sessions. For example, if you define 30 minutes then a volunteer will not be able to join a session that ends at 1:00 pm AND a session that starts at 1:15 pm.
Improve Page Layouts
Courses page
Find Volunteers Page
Find Providers Page
Find Opportunities Listing Page
Parental Consent Phone Number
When a volunteer registers who requires parental consent, it asks for their parents email and in addition for their parents contact number. This information is held against the volunteers profile so the parents can be contacted by telephone if required.
Inviting Volunteers
Administrators and providers can now invite volunteers to your system from their main menu. Volunteers are invited by entering their email address OR uploading a list of email addresses.
Administrators can see the list of all invited volunteers and we have also improved the messaging you receive when duplicates are added.
Volunteer & Provider Downloads Include Custom Fields
When you export your volunteer or provider data it now includes any custom fields.
Volunteer Note Improvements
Providers can now record private notes on their volunteers. These can be used for recording conversations or additional information related to the volunteers personal needs.
Both administrators and providers can now add and remove discrete dated notes creating a history and audit trail for notes.
Improved Interface For Uploading Images
There is now the ability to move and crop images when uploading them to either the front page, providers profile page or the events page.
Registration Captcha Updated To Simpler System
The Google Captcha v2 (the image picking one) has now been thoroughly defeated, which means we are making it harder for people to register but not any harder for robots, so we have removed it.
We now protect your applications from bogus registrations with a number of discreet features that will not get in the way of your volunteers registering.
Improved Interface For Applicants
We have added some notification reminders and visual clues if an opportunity has unprocessed applicants.
If there are any applicants that have not yet received a decision your home page will list them and if you manage the opportunity, the applicant tab will be highlighted and a notification appears in the summary area.
In addition we have improved the default email that is sent to providers when a new application is received to help clarify that difference between an application and a joining event.
Creating Quick Opportunities
The new opportunity screen can be daunting for new users and for those providers that have little or no training. It also assumes that providers wish to manage the entire volunteering life-cycle within TeamKinetic, which is not always the case.
We have added the option when creating a new opportunity to choose a quick opp. This gives a much reduced option list to the provider and allows them to quickly create an open ended flexible opportunity that starts as soon as it is authorised.
Combined Linked Volunteers and Volunteers Searching
Providers can now search for both their active volunteers and linked volunteers from the same search page. They can unlink volunteers directly from the search results and no longer need the separate linked volunteers page.
Pause Emails means PAUSE EMAILS, but not Brexit!
We have changed the pause emails button to pause all emails including when a volunteer is removed from the opportunity or session. When completely removing a volunteer you are given the option of sending the removal email.
Simpler Interface for OWED HOURS
If you have a volunteer who has done some volunteering outside of your system it is now easier than ever to record those hours within you system.
Always Accessible Super Admin Menu
The Super Admin menu is now located on the top right of your screen making it faster for the user to access.
Providers See More About Their Volunteers
We have increased the amount of information that a provider can see on volunteers who join their opportunities, this should help them in identifying who is best suited to particular roles. (NOTE: This also includes external volunteers).
Improved Interface When Copying Opportunities
We have changed the way you copy opportunities, you are now asked ‘what the new start date is?’ and the system will move all associated sessions accordingly.
Adjust The Size Of Your Logo
You can now adjust the displayed height of your logo when uploading.
No, I’m not joking and no I haven’t got the secret for that either…but anyway, often volunteering is recommended for older adults to keep them active and busy. People aged 65 and over are the age group most likely to have volunteered recently. As we get older many people naturally slow down however we should only gear up!
I can rest when I’m dead, I’m too busy living.
My beloved Great nan
Volunteering can cover a wide spectrum, from volunteering locally or abroad through various organisations. The nature of how you volunteer is irrelevant really, it’s the spirit of volunteering which really counts.
Evolutionary Psychology
Evolutionary psychology suggests that volunteering can have clear benefits which improve the psychological and physical well-being of the volunteer, not just the recipient.
Research by psychologist Stephanie Brown indicates volunteering helps manage stress, provides greater relationship satisfaction, reduces depression, and the biggie – increase your life expectancy. Taking into consideration medical history, age, social activity and other uninteresting factors. But volunteering appears to reduce the risk of death by 25% – which is a good enough reason for me!
Stress-less volunteer more
Don’t stress, it’s more likely to cause death! Stress plays a large factor in our bodies immune system and volunteering reduces that stress. The act of helping elicits feelings of usefulness. This produces the hormones oxytocin and progesterone which bring feelings of happiness and combats the symptoms of stress.
Working too hard!
Overworked volunteers can become stressed which doesn’t allow them to receive all the health benefits from volunteering. Your volunteering like anything should be managed and controlled. Volunteer management is very important and should be done to prevent burnout and increasing, instead of decreasing, stress.
What to take from this
Those who devote time, about 100 hours per year (just 10 days), are most likely to exhibit positive health outcomes from volunteering. The secret to a happy and healthy life is to remain mentally and physically active right up until the very end, especially after retirement, and volunteering is an excellent way to achieve that. That’s what my Great Nan did!
The Rugby World Cup is quickly approaching us, and I’m sure fans can’t wait for the contest to begin. The enjoyment of supporting your country before they go into battle against the opposition. I’m sure laughs, tears, and questionable language will be fuelled by countless pints down at many of your local pubs.
Small history lesson
The upcoming World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the very toughest of international teams. The first-ever Rugby World Cup was contested in 1987, it was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand with sixteen nations taking part. New Zealand became the first champions defeating France 29-9.
The warriors who succeed in their battles are awarded the Webb Ellis Cup at the end of the tournament. Legend has it that Webb Ellis was the inventor of rugby. Stumbling across the game by deciding to pick up the ball during a football match. Webb Ellis probably didn’t comprehend at the time of picking up the ball, that rugby would go onto generate revenue of approximately 228million pounds. This being the figure derived from the last Rugby World Cup hosted by England in 2015.
Rugby World Cup volunteers
The Japan 2019 organising committee has launched ‘Team No Side’ the official volunteers for the Rugby World Cup. Which is made up of over 10,000 volunteers across the twelve host cities of Japan. Around 38,000 volunteers applied for the position, these volunteers aim to connect and interact with fans to create a memorable experience. The recruitment process began in 2018 with successful applicants being given complete training in preparation for the big event.
The training for Team No Side started in February and March earlier this year. Their first training session covered learning about the history of the World Cup. I’m sure volunteering in the Rugby World cup will be a memorable experience. However, the volunteers involved are not allocated pre-paid travel cards to travel between each venue, neither will they receive any discount from accommodation providers. Which is hard to digest, as this is a globally televised event.
The Rugby World Cup previously hosted by England had more than 20,000 application forms submitted, with only 6,000 of the keenest people being granted success. The successful applicants joined the group named ‘Join The Pack,’ 4,000 of the volunteers were from Rugby clubs and the remaining 2,000 were from outside of clubs. Committee leader Debbie Jevans felt this was just the right balance of passionate rugby enthusiasts.
Rugby clubs near you
Many volunteers that are a part of their local clubs volunteer because they want to give something back. The volunteers may be ex-players themselves or have younger children who are passionate about the sport. Most clubs across the UK are very busy, grass pitches are the UK’s most popular space of physical exercise so it’s not surprising there is a demand for volunteers.
Throughout an average week, rugby clubs can receive a wide spectrum of players wanting to take part in various training sessions, juniors, men’s, women’s and touch. As you could imagine that’s a lot of muddy people to manage at one time. That’s during the weekdays alone, without considering match days on weekends, which could include tournaments and away games. Without volunteers, these opportunities for people to stay active and enjoy the sport would just not be possible. Rain or shine local coaches are there on the sideline giving constructive guidance or perhaps just hailing light-hearted abuse in your direction. But it’s all good fun!
If you think rugby is something you would like to be apart of then you should consider contacting your local clubs secretary. They will then be able to inform you what volunteering opportunities they have available, and the training you may need in order to start volunteering.
My dad was a volunteer coach. Without that type of involvement things just don’t happen and aren’t quite as good as they could be without volunteers. This is especially true in light of the Rugby World Cup.
Jonny Wilkinson
A volunteering inspiration
Jeremy Wares, 36 was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Following his diagnosis, Jeremy was understandably shaken by the news. He had always wanted to coach his son in rugby but he wasn’t sure of the near future of his health at the time of his diagnoses.
In the previous 15years, Jeremy had made a living for himself being a chef in Paris. Catering in very well established restaurants which were fit for President Mitterrand. Jeremy had then gone on to establish his own restaurants in Scotland, 63 Tay Street and The Anglers Inn.
Despite the news, Jeremy was able to use his previous skillset of being a Caterer to organise events for Perthshire Rugby Club. These events have included the Perthshire Beer Festival which attracts around 20,000 people each year. Jeremy remains very hands-on with these events cooking a lot of the food himself. Alongside busy event planning, Jeremy has also been able to coach his son in the rugby team, which he was doubtful about at the start.
Inlight of his illness Jeremy felt he had to give something back and he’s done a fantastic job. Jeremy says “the secret is to remain active and keep going” only when he stops for too long does his condition seem to become more visible. Jeremy’s efforts were rewarded as Scottish volunteer of the season.
Grow your organisation with TeamKinetic
Grow your volunteering community with TeamKinetic volunteer management
TeamKinetic invites all organisations who feel they would be able to benefit from our software to get in touch. Remember we don’t limit the number of volunteers or the number of opportunities you can have available. We want your organisation and the communities you work with to grow and prosper.
The LFC foundation has 315 volunteers and 22 volunteering opportunities. According to our system, volunteers at LFC have recorded more than 1,200 hours of volunteering. The LFC foundation aims to create life-changing opportunities for children and young people. Currently, LFC works with up to 3,000 children and young people a week improving their health, education and overall chances in life.
Recently I was lucky enough to volunteer as part of the Respect 4 All project at LFC. Originally this project began in 2009 and helps approximately 400 participants every year. LFC works with local and national organisations in developing sport and physical activity opportunities for young children with complex needs.
I have to say that this was a spectacular day! During my time at LFC, I was able to witness the work LFC Foundation does. I can tell you now that LFC truly makes a difference to every young person’s life. LFC provides a space and an opportunity for these children to learn, get active and most importantly have fun! I would like to commend all the volunteers who were there as well, giving their own free time up to help benefit and make a change to someone else’s life for one day. Luckily for me, I had the chance to speak to some of the volunteers and get there say on why they volunteer.
I previously volunteered for ‘Everton In The Community’ for 15 years maybe more (said under his breath quietly). I started at Everton because my grandad was an Everton fan and he first introduced me to the club. But it is my first time volunteering at Liverpool today and hopefully one of many. I like helping out where ever I can, volunteering makes me feel happy and useful it’s something I don’t plan on stopping, I love doing what I do. Alongside volunteering, I play for the LFC Foundation disability football team who I train with every Monday. As much as I love volunteering in football – I also love playing it too.
Paul aged 39 (LFC Volunteer and football player)
Milo and Micheal
I’ve been volunteering for the last year at LFC because of my educational pathways. At college, I am currently studying in sports and my future career goals are to be a football coach. So to pursue my career goals I have been helping out at LFC Foundation to gain some experience. But as well as seeking a job in coaching, I enjoy meeting new people and most of all it can be a really good laugh. Also, I am quite an active person and I don’t like sitting around the house. LFC provides a chance for me to get out and do something physical. The secret for me is enjoying what I do, then it doesn’t seem like work.
Micheal Murray Aged 17 (Student)
Milo and Anas
Today is my first day volunteering at The LFC Foundation but I am enjoying it thoroughly. Previously I have volunteered at the Netball World Cup in Liverpool. But I am volunteering here today because I am a Liverpool football fan who just wanted to help out in my local community. I feel it is something everyone should try to get involved with at least once in their lives. Originally I am from India but I am spending my time in Liverpool to pursue my master’s degree in cardiovascular health. During the time I have left before my degree is over I want to get involved in as many volunteering opportunities as possible.
I was able to find the Respect 4 All opportunity through using The LFC Foundations webpage. Which uses TeamKinetic volunteering management system. The system was very easy to manoeuvre around and made finding and signing up to opportunities easy, I had no issues at all.
Anas usman aged 28 (physiotherapist)
Be happy and love what you do
What was great about listening to the volunteers was that I could tell that each volunteer I spoke to was passionate and happy to be volunteering at LFC. All the volunteers that I spoke to were happy and smiling, be it there first time or one of many. This reflects so positively on LFC and also the volunteering community.
Volunteering attracts a wide spectrum of people who volunteer for many different reasons. Education, helping the community, the love of helping others or being associated with local clubs. Each volunteer has a purpose of why they want to volunteer and what they want to get out of it.
The question is: What’s your purpose and what do you want to achieve from volunteering? Only you can know that.
This blog has been inspired by Rob Preston, a senior reporter at Charity Finance Magazine and the author of a recent article highlighting that fewer people are volunteering.
The article (Fewer people volunteering, says DCMS survey), highlights that only 36 per cent of people volunteered at least once in the year to March 2019. The lowest level recorded by the survey, which was run by The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport. However, here at TeamKinetic we are committed to knocking down those barriers!
Childcare issues
Milo and his son intensely playing with Lego!
I know from being a parent myself looking after your child can be, to say the least, a tiring task. However, it is highly enjoyable, especially if you love playing with Lego as much as they do!
Childcare constraints do not need to stop you from volunteering, many volunteering opportunities can be done with your children.
MCRVIP has many child-friendly opportunities around the city like the cleaner city opportunity and the park maintenance opportunity, these are just two examples of where you and your children could volunteer and bond together. Not only is this something to do instead of being housebound but, it teaches the children the importance of volunteering and giving back to your community.
Having an illness or disability
Never let a disability hold you back, is the advice from Nicola Taylor, who didn’t let her disability get in the way of what she wanted to achieve in volunteering.
“I have cerebral palsy and am a wheelchair user. I felt very isolated as I had no social outlet. Previously I was invited to a presentation evening with Volunteering Matters and started talking to Mandy, from the SAFE project. About doing some volunteering for the project with her as I wanted to do something for myself and help others.
I have a particular interest in working with those with autism spectrum disorder as I have a nephew who is on the spectrum. When Mandy told me she would be starting a group with girls from the integrated autism service, I was very keen but felt there might be a financial impact as I would have to get an accessible taxi from my home. However, Mandy assured me that Volunteering Matters would cover the travel expenses – and that the venue would have disability access.
I am now co-facilitating the group and love it! I am helping others receive important messages and love seeing them gaining confidence week by week. Volunteering has helped me a lot; I feel pretty good about myself and I have also learned a lot from the workshops. I am keen to learn more and help out at further workshops in the future.”
Nicola Taylor
I hope Nicola’s story can inspire people to give volunteering a go. Volunteering has made a life-changing impact on Nicola’s life and It might just be able to do the same to yours.
Study commitments
Being a student myself I know the workload can be high, especially around deadline dates. So I understand finding spare time can be difficult. However, I recently got to chat with the successful student and volunteer El Afzal. El has been volunteering for quite some time now, some would say she’s a bit of a volunteering athlete!
How did you get into volunteering whilst at university?
“Through my tutors on my course (Event Management), and also through the MMU Sports TeamKinetic portal. I had very little experience in Events and really wanted to give myself the best start to my university time and career. My tutor guided me to a matchday volunteering with Manchester Futsal, running the reception and ticketing on matchdays. And I found my own volunteering through TeamKinetic where I volunteered at BUTL (British University Taekwondo League) UK Regional Taekwondo championships.”
How do you manage Studying and Volunteering at the same time?
“Despite most of it being linked to my degree and my career goals, I find the volunteering I’m doing to be my downtime. I have such a variety of volunteering under my belt that now I know what I’ll enjoy, and what will help me relax. So the first week of every month I go to Desert Island Discs with Manchester Cares in Ancoats, and have a brew with older neighbours and laugh and dance to some music. Or having post-match wings and drinks with Manchester Futsal team is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
I do make sure that with my studying I have at least one evening off working and revision to do something I enjoy and that makes me feel happy, it helps keep a balance and stop me from getting too bogged down.”
Do you feel volunteering whilst being at university has helped you, and if so why?
“Yes, definitely! Volunteering has opened a lot of doors for me. It’s led me onto new roles in organisations I already volunteered at which has led to further job offers.
Volunteering genuinely has helped me develop some vital skills and industry knowledge which I needed. Also, it’s a fantastic way of naturally networking with others; I’ve had fellow volunteers wanting to help and offer introductions and work experience/internships with people they know.”
What would you say to any student who is studying at university but is apprehensive about volunteering?
“I’d say to do some research and find a role you actually want. Don’t volunteer somewhere if it doesn’t interest you because you won’t get as much out of it. Try looking at something that could fit your current skill set, or is with a company/charity you actually want to work with. But volunteering is more rewarding the more you put in, so you have to go in and be willing to get out of your comfort zone. So research, apply, enjoy and get stuck in!”
Never considered it or not aware of groups that need help
Many people don’t really know how they can get involved in volunteering, it can be on your doorstep, or abroad. Many just have never given it a second thought. But I hope I can enlighten a few people to give volunteering a go, all you need is your laptop, mobile or tablet to get started on your first opportunity near you. Here are a handful of sites which could kick start your volunteering opportunities.
Your local city or town council is the perfect place to start. Your council website will additionally assist you in being able to volunteer locally. For first time volunteers, I would highly recommend trying your council’s website as your first call to action.
You may not have realised it yet but local accredited volunteer centres are everywhere. They’re an excellent way for first-time volunteers to get involved, by understanding your interests they can match you with suitable volunteering opportunities.
TryVolunteering.com ran by us here at TeamKinetic, encourages all people from all walks of life to get involved in volunteering. TryVolunteering.com also allows people to set up accounts as opportunity providers, providers can then advertise volunteering opportunities – but don’t worry its all FREE!
Don’t just do it for yourself, do it for someone else. That’s the true motivation behind volunteering. Do-it.org connecting volunteers to volunteering opportunities from all around the country.
Charity Job is the UK’s largest site for charity jobs and volunteering. Thousands of positions can be found up and down the UK, no matter your location there will be something near you.
A final note from TeamKinetic
Life can throw up many barriers, some of which are hard to get over and may challenge us along our paths. But it’s the journey of how we get over these barriers and what we can learn from climbing over them. The secret is passion. Martin Luther King said, “A man who has not found something he is willing to die for, is not fit to live.” Perhaps an extreme sentiment, however, the point is very clear. We all must find a passion in life which we care about more than ourselves; this will give you the motivation, and inspiration to do more in life. Your passion may be volunteering and helping to improve other peoples lives; whatever it maybe it doesn’t matter, as long as your passionate – then you can overcome anything.
The top 3 countries volunteers travel to are; The Philippines, India and Thailand, with 1.6 million people volunteering abroad every year. 84% of millennials said they would travel abroad to participate in volunteering activities and 39.52% said they would volunteer for their own professional development. So if you are one of those 84% then read on for our tips for volunteering abroad.
1. Make sure you know how to get there
“Getting lost, a good way to find yourself, unless you’re actually lost. Then you’ve got a problem”
A wise man once said
As obvious as it may sound, it’s essential you know exactly where in the world you’re going to be travelling to. Most people use websites such as GVI and International Volunteer HQ when wanting to volunteer abroad. However, you must read the small print! Most volunteering opportunities do not include flights, and few have transfers organised to and from the airport. So always be sure of the best way to go about your journey. Plan ahead and always make contact with your provider in advance, they’ll be able to point you in the right direction.
Engage with the local communities in which you plan to volunteer in, don’t just treat it as a photo opportunity. This can be done by listening and understanding what the local communities want and need. Be aware of your own prejudices and bias and listen; the community knows better than you. As a volunteer, you should consider learning about the political, social, economic and cultural histories of the places you visit. Which in better terms, will help stop you putting your foot in it!
3. Develop relationships
Building relationships
When volunteering abroad you want to ensure you develop relationships with the local community and stakeholders. Finding a real interest in someone will gain their trust over the course of your volunteering experience, by letting them know that you’re there to help. By communicating and developing relationships it will allow you to get the ball rolling between yourself and the local community and lubricate the path to what can be a rough road to the end goal. Remember your in someone else’s house, although it may be different from what you’re used to, they will be proud of their home – so always be respectful.
4. Manage your time wisely
Amazing places
Time is of the essence, you will be home before you know it. Try to make an action plan of what you want to achieve in your time volunteering – there is nothing worse than leaving a job half-finished. Assert maximum effort in all you do, hard work never goes unnoticed; it could lead to further volunteering in the future. But plan for free time! Get out and see the country you’ve travelled to, enjoy the culture and fully indulge in the experience.
5. Get something out of it
Take it all in
Your volunteering experience should help develop your skills. These could be employability skills for a future career, or they could be personal skills which you want to develop. But being out of your comfort zone and learning to adapt is a broad skill which can be utilized in many areas of your life. We all have to adapt, volunteering abroad will definitely take you out of your comfort zone.
Maintain your connections once you have finished, take down all the contact details and social media accounts of all the people you have met throughout your experience, they could be the sofa stop you need on a future magical experience.
TeamKinetic respects all areas of volunteering, locally or internationally. At the heart of it all, volunteers sacrifice their free time to help someone else, making the world a better place. By uniting communities and people together, mankind can truly do great things – Some of us just need a chance to show we can.
Volunteering contributed 17.1bn to the economy in 2016/ 2017 representing 0.85% GDP. The voluntary sector had 870,000 workers in 2018 with an estimated value of voluntary activity being 23.9bn. Opportunities created by providers and organisations are allowing these figures grow even more everyday!
A Small Thanks From TeamKinetic
TeamKinetic is proud of the organisations we works with. So we thought it was only right to give a little shout out to some of these organisations and the opportunities they have on offer.
Many of
these organisations vary in size, but the one thing they have in common is that
they are all dedicated to helping people find volunteering opportunities that
interest and challenge the volunteer.
What these organisations provide that many lack is the freedom for the volunteer to register and find opportunities in seconds. Whether its skill based, long term, one off, or more micro volunteering oriented opportunities for those people wanting to help but unable to commit to anything long term due to work and other life commitments.
So let’s find out more about these organisations and what they do around the community!
Humanity Road
Humanity Road was founded in 2010 by Chris Thompson and Cat Graham. Both twin sisters who created the organisation to connect people, animals and emergency officials with help resources when disaster strikes.
Every year, Humanity Road volunteers help thousands of people around the world impacted by disaster. In 2016, the disaster desk was active for 3,878 hours. Volunteers responded to 105 events in 45 countries, and total volunteer hours of service topped 11,000 hours.
What makes humanity road different is that almost all their opportunities are flexible and can be done from the comfort of your home. Opportunities like this are great for people wanting to help but are time poor.
Liverpool FC
Foundation
The LFC Foundation is the official charity of Liverpool Football Club. Their mission is to bring together the LFC family to create life changing opportunities for children and young people. The charity was formed in 2010 as a financially independent organisation to harness the power and passion their fans and supporters have to improve the lives of others.
The Liverpool foundation run a number of amazing events and days that volunteers can really get stuck into. Some of these opportunities include Respect4All Programme. Which is the LFC Foundation’s disability and inclusion project. Moreover the LFC Foundation make all the volunteers feel part of their community, something I experienced first hand!
University of East
London
UEL connects students to professional, career-led volunteering opportunities with charities, public sector organisations and other non-for-profit organisations across London. They Focus on volunteering that align with students career aspirations, interests and availability. They define volunteering as “time willingly given for the common good and without financial gain. It is enriching and contributes to personal development and/ or career aspirations
The university offers opportunities all across the city which vary in skill, commitment and type. The opportunities provided by the university have allowed students to feel part of the community and gain experience they might have not had the opportunity to do so in the past. Volunteering at university allows students to develop new skills that benefit them once they leave.
Glasgow Life Events
Glasgow Life is part of the city wide partnership which aims to develop volunteering opportunities and to grow volunteering skills. Additionally each year Glasgow Life provides numerous rewarding, safe, and supported opportunities for volunteers. Some being one-off major events, to more regular activities in libraries, museums, and community facilities throughout the city with around 1500 people currently involved as volunteers in Glasgow Life activities.
Glasgow Life have hosted a number of world class events including the Athletics Indoor European Championships. Events like this bring the city together and offer a number of opportunities for people to get stuck in. The great thing about Glasgow Life is that, there is no shortage of fun and rewarding opportunities.
Volunteering Wales
Volunteering Wales provides an integrated programme of volunteering support that aims to help more people get involved in volunteering. Benefiting their community and for their own personal development, and to help volunteering organisations to recruit and support their volunteers.
Volunteering Wales offer thousands of opportunities across Wales, working with various providers. Enabling potential volunteers to be able to select from a wide variety of activities, that they may wish to be apart of. In addition previous events have included fund raising events in support of the Samaritans and other charities.
Volunteering Wales enables younger people to get involved with volunteering. Providing a platform which connects younger people to opportunities they may have never thought about doing before, leading to the development of their social skills and creating new friends in volunteering along the way.
YHA
YHA believe that everyone should have the opportunity to discover, explore and experience something new – and what better way than through volunteering. Youth hostels offer a place to stay, a warm and safe welcome, accessible and flexible accommodation, activities and education packages and best of all they are open to everyone, whatever age or where they are from.
YHA have an extensive list of opportunities available from caretaking opportunities to hostel placement opportunities. Together with placement opportunities available in the city, country or in coastal areas across Britain. Hostel and student placements are perfect if you would like to gain hospitality experience, complete a work placement as part of your course of study, or to simply get away from home and lend a hand.
YHA opportunities provide unbelievable experience’s for those who may have came from harder upbringings and poorer family backgrounds. YHA is a unique organisation because they allow the opportunity to stay somewhere quite amazing. I stayed at the Snowdon Bryn Gwnant hostel, which is amazing and in a truly beautiful location!
Manchester VIP
Manchester VIP identifies, trains, and deploys volunteers to support sport and physical activity across Manchester. Recruiting people from all backgrounds and developing their skills signposting them to opportunities within sports events, sports clubs, local communities and schools.
MCRVIP unites people together in a common cause; museum workers, park maintenance, city cleaning, library workers, or even athletics coaching. Their platform is bringing everyone together, showcasing masses of opportunities for people to get involved with across Manchester. Manchester volunteers feel part of something larger and their retention rate is phenomenal.
TeamKinetic is massively thankful to be able to supply these wonderful organisations with our volunteering management software. We recognise and understand the value of volunteers, and so we support the opportunities, providers and volunteers that are contributing to the voluntary sector.
