Page 13 of 56

How To Reward Your Volunteers This Christmas

It’s important to reward your volunteers all year round and not just at Christmas time, but if your volunteers celebrate Christmas, then it would be nice to say thanks for all the help and support they’ve given to your organisation this year. Due to the cost of living crisis, it may be a struggle this year for charities to fork out gifts for all their volunteers however, most of the ideas listed below are affordable.

Personal Cards

Writing a letter or Christmas card that is personalised to each volunteer with a unique message shows that you have recognised the work of each individual volunteer and are thanking them for the difference they have made to the organisation.

An inexpensive way of doing this is sending personalised emails to your volunteers instead this way you can save on printing costs. Ensure you keep track of the types of things each volunteer does throughout the year to keep your organisation going, this shows you have appreciated their hard work and have noticed the small things they do. 

Certificates And Awards

Reward your volunteers with certificates to celebrate their hard work, you can be flexible to match the certificate to the volunteer. On the certificate, you can include things like how many hours have been completed by the volunteer this year to show how much they’ve helped the organisation and the difference they’ve made. These certificates could also be sent out via email to save printing costs. 

Handing out physical awards could be a more expensive way to reward your volunteers however, you could handmake the awards to make them more affordable for your organisation. An easy alternative instead of buying awards is printing out what you want the award to say and framing it. Award ideas could include “Most Enthusiastic Volunteer”, “Most Motivating Volunteer” or “Volunteer Of The Year” and other similar personality traits that carry your organisation. 

A Christmas Party

A Christmas party may be a struggle for most charities and organisations due to the cost of living crisis. Venue hire and catering may be out of budget so a cheap alternative is to have a virtual party over an online call involving a Christmas quiz with small prizes to be won.

Even though this is very lockdown-esque way to celebrate, it’s an affordable and easy alternative that doesn’t involve much planning to get all your volunteers in one place. There are many available Christmas quizzes online or you can have some fun and make up your own! 

Homemade Gifts 

Homemade baked goods or Christmas ornaments are an inexpensive way to reward your volunteers this Christmas. Who doesn’t like baked goods at this time of year, this is also a cheap option that anyone would be happy with. Some ideas for Christmas baked goods can be found here.

Making your own Christmas tree decorations or ornaments is a sustainable and affordable way to say thanks, this way volunteers can re-use the decoration each year and be reminded of the hard work they have achieved. There are plenty of ideas online for DIY Christmas decorations. Eight cheap and easy decoration ideas can be found here!

Give Volunteers Recognition On Your Blog

If your organisation has a blog, you could write a blog post thanking your volunteers. This means their work can also be recognised outside of the organisation. Similarly, you could create posts for social media with the volunteers’ names and a photo of their efforts. This is a free and easy way for volunteers to feel special and receive acknowledgement for their actions. 

Make sure your volunteers feel appreciated and recognised all year round for their hard work not just at Christmas time.


You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

 

Have you enjoyed using TeamKinetic? If you could leave us a review on Capterra, we’d really appreciate it! We’ll even send you a little thank you.

TeamKinetic 2.2.1 Minor Release

Just a small release with some bug fixes but still a couple of new features for added value!

Bulk Actions on Sessions

Great time saver here for those that deal with many sessions on an opportunity. Similarly to when you are using the volunteer or opp search, you can check individual, or all sessions, and perform some actions on them.

Currently, you can email all the volunteers on that session, update the session’s time and duration, download the volunteer details for everyone on the selected sessions, and delete the selected sessions. There is also the potential to add further actions if anyone has any great ideas.

Admin Chat Rooms

We hope you’ll get on board and make use of this new feature where you’ll be able to ask advice and give advice to your fellow volunteer coordinators.

We’ve currently got three fixed rooms and you can add new posts and reply in much the same way as you do now for the opportunity chat rooms. You can also subscribe to each room and get email alerts when new posts are added.

You’ll find the chat rooms in the Help and Support menu. We are quite excited about this and hope you can use it to good effect.

As always, we are ready to take your feedback and questions in all the normal channels.

Where To Volunteer This Christmas

Volunteering at Christmas time is one of the most popular times of year people choose to donate their time to help, therefore opportunities usually get filled up quickly. 

Many families and groups of people are struggling every day but with the most difficult time of year being just around the corner and due to the cost of living crisis, the help of volunteers is needed now more than ever. 

To everyone who celebrates Christmas, it is fulfilling to help make someone else’s Christmas the best it can be. Many charity appeals are organised in the run-up to Christmas to help those in need. Some examples of where to volunteer in the UK this Christmas can be found below, these include The Salvation Army, Crisis Christmas centres, Age UK and many more.

Homeless Shelters 

The festive season can be particularly hard and lonely for homeless people, and shelters are likely to be particularly full this year due to the cost-of-living crisis. Helping out during Christmas at homeless shelters usually involves sorting through donations, serving food and offering general support by communicating with people who may be lonely during this period. 

Centrepoint, the charity that supports homeless young people, warns that this could be the worst homelessness crisis in the charity’s 50-year history, as the pandemic has led to thousands of young people losing their jobs and their accommodation therefore extra help from volunteers and donations are needed now more than ever. Volunteer opportunities for Centrepoint can be found here. 

Crisis is a national charity for people experiencing homelessness. With the help of others, Crisis want to ensure as many people as possible can leave homelessness behind this festive season. They will be extending their services in London providing support and accommodation in hotels from the 20th of December to the 25th of January. You can find available volunteering opportunities for Crisis here. 

Women’s Shelters

The Christmas holiday period can often see more frequent incidences of domestic violence, due to factors such as more time spent at home with abusive partners, and additional financial pressures due to the cost of living crisis. You can contact a Women’s Aid domestic violence service or refuge in the area where you live to see if they have any volunteering opportunities available for you to offer your support this Christmas. Some available opportunities from The Pankhurst Trust can be found on their website.

Charity Shops

Charity shops are particularly busy during the run-up to Christmas so stores may need some extra support. The Salvation Army are currently looking for volunteer helpers to get involved with all kinds of activities for their many community charity shops. Their shops are suitable places for people of all ages and abilities to volunteer, tasks include operating the till and creating festive window displays. The Salvation Army has available opportunities here. 

Warm Banks

More than 3000 registered organisations have opened or are opening up free, warm, welcoming spaces for the public this winter across the UK with Warm Welcome. These warm spaces are usually in a heated building, which members of the public can use to help them save on their home energy bills. You can contact local charities involved with Warm Welcome to see if they need volunteers for their warm banks.  

Food Banks

Give someone the food they need this Christmas and dedicate your time to helping a food bank. You can find a local food bank with opportunities near you using The Trussell Trust website.

FareShare is another food bank charity that stops good food from going to waste and gives it to people who need it. Fareshare has plenty of opportunities which can be found on their website. 

Supporting People Feeling Lonely This Christmas 

Elderly people can feel isolated and lonely at this time of year especially when they are in a care home.  Through volunteering, you can support older people who may otherwise spend the holidays alone. According to Age UK, “Almost 1.5 million older people feel more lonely at Christmas than any other time of year.” You can volunteer for Age UK to do their telephone friendship service where you phone an elderly person weekly, last Christmas, Age UK supported 28,345 telephone friendship calls to older people. 

Remember that volunteers for are needed all year round for charities like these and not just at Christmas. If you need help organising volunteers during this busy festive period, check out our website.

 

You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to other episodes of our podcast:

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

 

TeamTalk October Roundup

TeamTalk December: Roundup

Hello and welcome to TeamKinetic’s TeamTalk December newsletter in blog form!

This roundup is designed to let you read more about what’s going on within TeamKinetic, the third sector, and the world in general.

If you’d like to subscribe to the TeamTalk newsletter, please send an email over to me at alex@teamkinetic.co.uk and we’ll get you on the list!

To read our roundup of stories we think you need to know about, click to go to the next page below, or choose a story from the list:

Are you Missing out on Billions from Corporate Volunteering?

According to research from Pilotlight, corporate volunteering could generate up to £17 billion for UK charities. The report also calls for UK employers to do more to support skills-based volunteering in their communities.

So what’s stopping corporations from encouraging their employees to volunteer? Some leaders say it’s difficult to find opportunities that align with company goals. Maybe some corporate leaders just aren’t looking, or aren’t aware, of the vast opportunities available. Not to mention the benefits they can provide.

It’s not as if the demand isn’t there, the report states that 45% of adults would like to use the skills or knowledge they have developed at work to help out charities, good causes or community groups on a voluntary basis.

There is a push to move towards a ‘workout culture’. This involves actively encouraging and supporting employees to use their time and skills to support charities and get involved in their community. Overall, it builds a stronger, more progressive company culture.


Promoting the Benefits

Allowing workers to volunteer is known to increase employee well-being, improve retention, and increase attraction to potential employees.

Furthermore, while volunteering helps the community, it could also help improve an organisation’s culture. Corporate volunteering days provide a chance for employee bonding – especially relevant due to the face-to-face time lost during the pandemic.

Recent research from the Charity Retail Association shows that charities are experiencing volunteer shortages, with many reporting that these shortages have had a negative effect on income. What better way to fill these gaps than through corporate volunteering? Promoting the benefits of volunteering and tugging on the heartstrings a little bit can’t hurt anyone.


What can Charities do?

An area on your website specifically dedicated to outlining what corporate volunteering is on offer is a great help. The first step is to make key information easy to access.

Any organisation with volunteering opportunities should be promoting them digitally. This is the best way you can reach a wide audience. This might involve posting on social media, or investing in a volunteer management system.

We appreciate some organisations may not be able to afford digital tools like volunteer management software, that’s why we created TryVolunteering.

TryVolunteering allows you to advertise your opportunities for free on our national platform. Get started today by signing up as a Provider. You can set up your own profile and invite your existing volunteers to sign up. We will also automatically link all volunteers who sign up using your link to you.

An example of a public-facing profile on TryVolunteering.

In addition, our varied pricing options mean there’s something to suit organisations of any size. With our cheapest option starting from just £19 per month. Find out more on our website. You can even share your opportunities to other local TeamKinetic sites to really maximise your reach.


What can employers do to encourage their employees?

  • Talk to your employees.

    Firstly, find out what it is they might want to get out of volunteering. Find out what they’re interested in, particularly if it aligns with your company’s goals. Employees will be more enthusiastic about volunteering if it connects with their values.

  • Reach out to charities.

    Find charities that work in the fields you’ve identified as important to your company and employees. This could even end up becoming a long-term partnership for ongoing corporate volunteering days.

  • Start spreading the word!

    Tell your employees how they can join in, explicitly promoting the benefits. Why not give them a paid day off to get involved? Mention it in your meetings, newsletter, emails – basically any communication channel.
    You should also set up a way for employees to give feedback on what worked and what might not have worked, this allows you to improve your volunteering days as time goes on.

  • Celebrate your achievements.

    Volunteering is a great way to pick up new skills and put those you already have into practice. Posting about your volunteering on social media and internal email updates can also be a great morale booster for employees.

You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

 

Have you enjoyed using TeamKinetic? If you could leave us a review on Capterra, we’d really appreciate it! We’ll even send you a little thank you.

The Best Ways To Volunteer During The Cost Of Living Crisis

The current cost of living crisis will affect us all, but the impact will be disproportionately felt by those who are already struggling. Charities and organisations that provide essential services such as food banks, warm banks, mental health services, and helping people facing homelessness are being largely affected. UK Fundraising reports, for example, that 9 out of 10 food bank charities fear they can’t meet the rise in demand. Charity Times also reports that some charities are now referring their own staff to food banks.

Volunteering in food or warm banks is crucial during these times. However, there are also other volunteering options such as befriending schemes for people feeling isolated. Some suggestions for where you can donate your time to help are listed below. 

Food Banks 

Nearly seven million people are said to be going hungry in the UK, including two million children and this is becoming a more significant struggle due to the cost of living crisis. 

The cost of living crisis is leading to increased need and rising costs for food banks which has also meant there is a need for more volunteers to donate their time. Staff and volunteers at food banks are working tirelessly to support people in their communities. Food banks in the Trussell Trust network provided more than 2.1 million parcels to people facing financial hardship.

Homeless Shelters 

For many people across the country, there is a big risk of being forced into homelessness because of the inability to keep up with increasing living costs. It is impossible to deal with the rising cost of living when you are already struggling to find a secure and stable place to live. Crisis research published in March 2022, showed that families on the breadline face an average £372 deficit between their Local Housing Allowance and the cost of the cheapest rents in their local areas.

The Crisis charity receives almost no government funding. The generosity of their supporters and corporate partners is what allows them to continue to be there for everyone that needs them. Support from volunteers allows them to deliver services to help people experiencing homelessness. 

Supporting The Well-being Of Others 

Well-being and mental health also play a big factor during this crisis. Money problems can cause high amounts of stress and people may be feeling down. With the run-up to Christmas fast approaching, people may not be able to afford to give gifts or celebrate it in the way that they usually do so volunteering to support the well-being of others is crucial.

Warm Banks 

As energy prices rise along with the cost of living, an increasing number of so-called warm banks have been popping up around the UK. These warm spaces are usually in a heated building like a community centre or village hall. Members of the public can use them to help save on their home energy bills. One story from the BBC is of two friends who have set up a warm bank offering homemade soup. People can stay as long as they want to keep warm, and it helps them to feel less isolated or lonely. This couldn’t be done without the help of volunteers, other stories of warm banks can be read here

You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to other episodes of our podcast:

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

How To Support The Wellbeing Of Your Volunteers

To support your volunteer’s mental health and wellbeing, it is important to ensure all your volunteers are happy and content and you are doing all you can to sustain their wellbeing and create a supportive environment for the volunteers. Showing the volunteers that their mental health matters to you can also help retain volunteers. Ensuring you have a well-maintained relationship with volunteers means they will feel more comfortable raising any concerns with you. 

Ways To Support Your Volunteer’s Wellbeing 

Provide your team with information about bettering your mental health and wellbeing and letting them know that support is available. Mind offers some information about this on its website which can be found here.

Strengthen The Relationships With Your Volunteers

Make sure you have strong relationships with your volunteers. Well-maintained relationships can reduce stress and increase happiness, engagement and overall health. According to NCVO research shows that a feeling of belonging is important to people and can help motivate them.

You can strengthen relationships with volunteers by encouraging team-building activities and creating opportunities for people to come together in person and online for example socials or regular informal meet-ups. You can also keep in contact with volunteers by using our new automated emails feature in our 2.2 update which allows you to send automated emails so volunteers will get a message wishing them all the best on their birthdays and thanking them for volunteering. You can read more about what else is included in our 2.2 update here. 

Create A Mental Health And Wellbeing Policy

Ensure you have a mental health and wellbeing policy. Having a policy shows what actions you’ll take to support staff and volunteers’ wellbeing. In the policy, you can include things like how you’ll respond to people who disclose a mental health problem. NCVO have suggested St John’s Ambulances policy as an example which you can gain ideas from for your own policy. 

Use The Wellness Action Plan (WAP) 

Volunteer Now suggests using the Wellness Action Plan (WAP) as a way for Volunteer Managers / Organisations to support the mental health of their volunteers.

WAPs are a personalised tool that can be used to help us identify what keeps us well at work and the support we would like to receive from our manager to boost our wellbeing. You are able to fill in a Wellness Action Plan template on the Mind website.

Connecting With Your Volunteers 

Get to know your volunteers, ask them questions and show interest by asking what their hobbies are or what their motivations are for volunteering. This can help build healthy relationships and allow you and the volunteers to be more comfortable around one another and volunteers are able to feel more freely about voicing their concerns. 

Have Regular Informal Catch-ups 

Have one-to-one informal meetings or check-ups with your volunteers if possible or just regular check-ins via email and make sure to actively listen to your volunteers, and seek out their thoughts, opinions and feedback. NCVO have a one-to-one meeting template that you can use for inspiration. 

You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

TeamTalk: Season 2, Episode 4 – Emma Peat

For TeamTalk Season 2, Episode 4, Emma Peat from Formula E joins hosts Chris Martin and Imogen Greatbatch.

Welcome back to season 2 of our TeamTalk podcast. This season, we are talking to thought leaders, customers and stakeholders from the world of sports and physical exercise. Join us as we dive deeper into sports volunteering and the volunteer managers who make it happen. 

In this episode, Chris and Imogen were joined by Emma Peat from Formula E. Emma talked us through her volunteer management journey and discussed her enthusiasm for sports and volunteering. 

Listen on Spotify below or on Youtube here.

The Peat Pathway 

Emma Peat is currently the Event Workforce Manager at Formula E, leading a global team of Support Staff and Volunteer Managers who deliver a vital temporary resourcing programme on the ground at Formula E events. 

Her volunteer management journey started at University where she got stuck in, playing many different sports. She even started a hockey team with her friends. After university, she moved to London and got a job at a clothing company doing customer service. She had experience before in the events world due to a placement year.

Emma’s passion for hockey landed her the Events Officer role at England Hockey. She has found that a passion-fueled environment is very energising and working with volunteers is her favourite thing and that’s where she fell in love with the job role.  

Emma expressed that she is always very keen to get involved and would do activities with the volunteers as well as manage them. She is now operating internationally working for Formula E. 

Formula E 

Formula E is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. Formula E’s founding mission was for its race through the streets of the most iconic cities in the world – with a grid full of the best racing drivers and teams around – to show just what sustainable mobility was capable of, driving electric vehicles to the fore in the race for a better, cleaner future.

After six seasons of racing on the streets of the world’s most progressive cities, Formula E gained World Championship status, a move granted by the FIA (motorsport’s governing body) in December 2019.

Useful Links: 

Emma Peat’s Email – emp@fiaformulae.com

Episode link – https://open.spotify.com/episode/5RxbLxGWOnSsSPVgRo83fR

Formula E’s Website – https://www.fiaformulae.com/en

TeamTalk Podcast – https://open.spotify.com/show/2qCaTamq77sAE9qmnCcQVe

You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to other episodes of our podcast:

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

A Guide To Our TeamTalk Podcast

What Is The TeamTalk Podcast?

TeamTalk is a podcast that takes a deeper dive into the world of volunteer management, hosted by Director of TeamKinetic, Chris Martin. Chris speaks to a variety of people across the third sector to get their thoughts on all things volunteering and volunteer management.

We launched our first episode in January 2022 and so far we are halfway through season 2 and our podcast is now available to listen to on a variety of platforms. This season, Chris has been talking to thought leaders, customers and stakeholders from the world of sport and physical exercise as he takes a deeper dive into volunteering and the volunteer managers who make it happen. We have been joined by a range of guests from the world of volunteering including Jenny Betteridge, Alaina Macgregor, Philippa Bass, Kristen Natale, Gethyn Williams, and James Allen and there are plenty more guests to come! 

In this series, Chris has been joined by co-host Imo Greatbatch. Imo is currently the Head of Volunteering at England Netball and is passionate about volunteering in sports brings her insightful knowledge to the podcast.

Why You Should Be Listening To The Podcast

Our weekly podcast covers various topics with fantastic guests giving their insight on the volunteer management world. The podcast allows you to listen to other like-minded people’s thoughts on the sector and their journey into the volunteer management industry.

Due to the knowledgeable guests who have years of experience in the industry you are able to learn more about the sector. It’s particularly intriguing to hear the journeys each of the guests have come down to enter the sector and what they initially started out doing compared to the amazing things they are involved in now.

So if you are a volunteer manager starting out or have years of experience in the industry, it would be useful to hear the tips and opinions of others who are already involved in the sector. We can guarantee you will feel inspired after listening to an episode due to the strong passion for the sector from each of the guests. 

Episode Guide

Season 1 

In Season 1 Chris spoke to a range of guests across the sector, each covering a variety of topics from the importance of great leadership as a Volunteer Manager, the challenges of the pandemic on the voluntary sector and more! 

Season 1 Episode 1: Starting off the season, Chris was joined by Nicola Ward and Ian Turnbull from Willowbrook Hospice. Chris, Ian, and Nicola discuss everything from Willowbrook to criminal checks, and how the TeamKinetic system has simplified their work.

Listen to S1 E1 here!

Season 1 Episode 2: Talking all things Manchester women’s aid with Abi Froud from the Pankhurst Trust. Learn more about the incredible work done by Manchester women’s aid. During this episode, Abi discusses her work within the Pankhurst Trust and continues to inspire us to challenge gender inequality.

Listen to S1 E2 here!

Season 1 Episode 3: If you want to know more about the importance of great leadership, this is the episode for you! Chris was joined by Ruth Lenoard, Ruth is the Chair of Association of Volunteer Managers and we are pleased to be AVMs first corporate partner. During this episode Ruth talks about her journey into where she is today and leadership skills.

Listen to S1 E3 here!

Season 1 Episode 4: Next up Chris spoke to Andy Broomhead, board member at AVM and Head of Volunteering at Diabetes UK. We hear Andy talking about his challenges he’s been through as a volunteer himself and a volunteer manager. 

Listen to S1 E4 here!

Season 1 Episode 5: In the final episode of the season, Claire Troupe talked us through how those working with volunteers are revitalising the volunteer movement post pandemic. Claire Troupe is the Project Manager at Manchester City Councils Volunteer Inspire Programme (MCRVIP). She shared with us that if you are not fully immersed in the volunteer world, the work may go unoticed.  

Listen to S1 E5 here!

Season 2 

In Season 2 Chris explores the world of sport and takes a deeper dive into volunteering and the volunteer managers who make it happen. In this season, Chris was joined by co-host Imo Greatbatch. Imo is Head of Volunteering at England Netball and shares her insightful knowledge with the guests. 

Season 2 Episode 1: Season 2 was started off by exploring the Vision For Volunteering. Chris and Imo were joined by three guests: Jenny Betteridge, James Allen and Gethyn Williams. Jenny is Stategic Lead for Volunteering at Sport England and Gethyn and James launched the market engagement that made the vision possible. In this episode we get stuck into what the vision is, what it means and how you can get involved as it evolves over the coming months and years. 

Listen to S2 E1 here! 

Season 2 Episode 2: In Episode 2, Chris was joined by Alaina MacGregor and Philippa Bass from British Blind Sport. In this episode Alaina and Philippa talk about their jounry with British Blind Sport and we learn all about their ‘Have a Go’ day programme which has introduced hundreds of visually impaired adults and children to new sports. 

Listen to S2 E2 here! 

Season 2 Episode 3: Next up Chris spoke to Kristen Natale who has over 10 years experience in volunteer development and is now the Head of Volunteering at Sport England. In this episode Kristen discusses her thoughts on the Vision for Volunteering and how she got to where she is today. 

Listen to S2 E3 here! 

Season 2 Episode 4: Episode 4 is coming very soon! Chris was joined by Emma Peat from Formula E, this is a very interesting listen if you interested in this side of the sports industry. 

Where You Can Listen To It: 

You can listen to our TeamTalk podcast on the following platforms: Spotify, Amazon music, Apple music, Acast and on our Youtube channel. 

Thank you to all our guests who have joined us so far on the podcast. If you have any topic or guest requests be sure to let us know, you can contact us on our socials using the hashtag #TeamTalk or drop us an email (isabella@teamkinetic.co.uk).

Keep your eyes peeled as Season 3 is coming soon! 

You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to other episodes of our podcast:

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

 

TeamTalk October Roundup

TeamTalk November: Roundup

Hello and welcome to TeamKinetic’s TeamTalk November newsletter in blog form!

This roundup is designed to let you read more about what’s going on within TeamKinetic, the third sector, and the world in general.

If you’d like to subscribe to the TeamTalk newsletter, please send an email over to me at alex@teamkinetic.co.uk and we’ll get you on the list!

To read our roundup of stories we think you need to know about, click to go to the next page below, or choose a story from the list:

Page 13 of 56

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén