Being in the voluntary sector, we are all too aware of the importance of youth volunteers. Inspiring the millennials will create your next generation of reliable, hardworking volunteers. But how exactly do you go about doing that?
28% of millennials volunteered in the USA last year. They did 1.5 million hours of service in total, which is worth an estimated $36.7 billion. This just shows how valuable the voluntary sector can actually be to a country’s economy.
How Important Is The Next Line Of Volunteers?
HotelManagement.net recognise as much as we do the importance of the next line of volunteers. They spoke to the current ’30 under 30′ members and asked how they help out through volunteering or how they would like to if they had more time on their hands.
Barry D. Allen who is a General Manager at Double Tree Hilton says that if he were to have more time, he would dedicate it to going out into the community and promoting jobs within the hospitality industry. He says that he often meets people and thinks ‘why are they not in the hospitality industry?’. This would also help societal issues such as unemployment.
Volunteering is always top of mind for Bianca Destout, account executive at Marcus Hotels & Resorts “I can always find the time to be involved in my community because it is something that is very important to me,” she said. “I am a Big Sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters and have been for four years. This involves frequent outings with my 13-year-old men-tee in my free time. I am also on the Young Professionals Board for Make-a-Wish Wisconsin and I volunteer at several local events organized by our hotel human resources team and United Way.”
How To Attract Youth Volunteers
Gaining a good collective of young volunteers can be the key to having a successful long-running volunteer programme. Using incentives can initially be good to attract the younger volunteer audience. This does not have to be a paid incentive, many young people are looking for experience to build their CV’s. Meaning a good reference/developing skills can be worth more than monetary/material perks.
Having said this, it would not be unfair to suggest that giving them incentives would make them want to do more/ get involved. The perks in question have to be appropriate for the organisation putting out the opportunities. They cannot put a financial strain on themselves otherwise it will make the whole purpose of volunteering redundant. Getting young volunteers is obviously a fantastic thing however you don’t want to jeopardize the finances/future of the organisation.
Where To Find Youth Volunteers
Often the problem with getting a new line of volunteers is the initial contact with them. A great place to start if you’re looking for young hungry volunteers will be universities, colleges and schools. Educational establishments are usually very keen to speak to anyone that would be able to benefit their students’ futures. The key thing to getting in to talk to students about your opportunities is to get the schools on board with what you want to achieve and how that can also benefit them. Ways you can do this is through doing presentations and building awareness of your volunteer programmes online.
How TeamKinetic Can Help
For the last 10 years, TeamKinetic have been making market-leading volunteer management software for organisations in numerous industries. If you are in need of recruiting, managing and retaining both new and existing volunteers please do not hesitate to get in contact.
Our expert helplines are open 9am – 5pm Monday – Friday (0161 914 5757) where any questions you have about the system can get answered. Alternatively, you can send any email inquiries to info@teamkinetic.co.uk.
TeamKinetic recently got to the chance to chat with Daniel Eckersall on his preparation for the upcoming world indoor lacrosse championships held in Canada.
Get to know a little background to how he got started and the impact volunteers have had on Lacrosse as a sport and the players involved.
Daniel Eckersall with his Team mates
A little bit about Daniel
Daniel started to learn and play the game of field Lacrosse at Cheadle Lacrosse club, he later made the move to play for Stockport. He has been playing Lacrosse for the last 7 years and only getting better!
During this time he has won the junior Flags and league multiple times whilst also competing in Ghent where Stockport were crowned European champions twice. Daniel has also had the honour of leading the North West side to a plate victory in 2018. More recently he has captained his side to win the cup at the Nick Kehoe Invitational.
Dan was introduced to Box Lacrosse when he played for Heaton Hornets in the 2015 Tasko cup and later joined the London Knights. His success led to being selected to represent England at the Ebox before being selected for the upcoming World Indoor Lacrosse Championships.
Daniel going for goal
Creating an impact
What impact have volunteers had on lacrosse and its success
Lacrosse in the UK would cease to exist if it wasn’t for the help and dedication of volunteers, whether that be at the grassroots level or the elite international lacrosse level; coaching, refereeing, transporting and everything else which goes on behind the scenes to keep any sports club running.
Our success as a nation has been built on volunteers dedicating their time and lives to help the sport grow nationwide. This has resulted in England lacrosse winning gold at previous European championships at field and ranking as the 5th highest nation in Indoor.
What you hope to achieve at the world champs?
My aim for the world championships this September is to maintain that top 5 position in the world and hopefully push that up to an even higher ranking. As an offensive player, there is the added pressure to make this happen but I’m looking forward to the challenge!
How do you hope to use your success as a way of motivating younger players to do the same?
My success as a player has come from having great coaches who volunteer their time to develop this great sport even further.
Having the privilege of representing England this September has given me a passion for helping develop this sport even further. Using the success from this I aim to carry on supporting and helping out at events and junior training sessions.
I want to help improve the next generation of Box Lacrosse players so that they can come away with the same experiences I’ve had the pleasure of being part of. It would be great to see them wear the England jersey and play alongside the best in the world themselves!
Daniel walking to the pitch in his London Knights kit
Support
With a 23 man squad travelling out to Vancouver in September to represent England in the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships, funding is required to cover the cost of their trip.
Unfortunately, due to the nature and popularity of the sport in the UK each player is expected to fund all aspects of this privilege from; Entry fee, travel, accommodation, playing kit, off pitch England, branded clothing etc. which has been estimated at around £2,500 each player.
The team has had a lot of success in the past and they hope to capitalise on that during the world championships. Any support would be greatly appreciated and would go a long way!
For more information on how TeamKinetic can assist with your volunteer management and getting the best out of all your volunteers visit our website or contact them on – 0161 914 5757
You may not know much about Brexit considering it’s not spoken about every single day! There are many rules and regulations that will affect the economy and organisations as a direct result of Brexit. This also applies to civil society organisations or Not-for-profits. So, how exactly can these types of organisations prepare for Brexit?
Do You Have EU Employees Or EU Volunteers?
If you are an EU citizen the government will be fully committed to safeguarding the rights of those who are legally living within the UK. Essentially what this means is that even when we leave the European Union you will not just be left or forgotten about!
You will still to be able to do all your volunteering opportunities the same as you did before, so there is no need to worry about that!!
Will My Organisation Still Receive EU Funding?
The UK will continue to work with organisations that have EU funded programmes that have been running from 2014 up until 2020. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the government will be making people aware of the projects that have been agreed to be continued before we leave the EU. If you are funded by a country not in the EU, this will not be affected as it will have no relation to Brexit regardless if there is a deal or no deal.
What To Do If You Receive Personal Data From The EU
In the event of no-deal, if your organisation receives personal data from within the European Union this will greatly affect the way your organisation operates. One of the major implications that may possibly affect your organisation is that you must be fully GDPR compliant, this won’t be an issue for many as GDPR has been a requirement for some time now. For full information on data protection guidelines please click here.
What If We Import/Export Goods From With The EU?
There are many resources full of information about what is going to happen if we leave the European Union with no deal in regards to trading. For more information on specific scenarios that will be relevant to your organisation please click here. This will affect you if you import resources for your volunteering opportunities from other countries.
NVCO Research On Further Brexit Implications On Charities
The NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) has many documents available on their website detailing specific details about volunteering and Brexit. For further information please visit their website here.
Volunteer Management- How TeamKinetic Can Help
If you are at all interested in making your volunteer programme the best it can possibly be with your own volunteer management software system, please do not hesitate to get into contact with TeamKinetic. We are available weekdays from 9am – 5pm for any phone support or inquiries you may have or alternatively you can email us on sales@teamkinetic.co.uk.
Volunteering at the HSBC UK national cycling centre
For me, volunteering is not just about giving up a few hours a week. It’s all about the changes you can be responsible for an organisation or a local community, the benefits you receive and the opportunities volunteering leads to.
Before coming to university, I worked in the third sector, and I knew I always had a passion for the music and events industry. I just did not have the experience or a way into the local industry. Through volunteering for charity events and volunteering at registration desks for music networking events, I was able to build a great set of connections.
This not only led to helping out at events for smaller companies such as Indy Man Beer Festival and Off the Record music conference but also to help land me some amazing jobs with my volunteer experiences.
So for anyone who hasn’t volunteered before, here are my top 5 reasons to start!
You get to meet new people!
Volunteering is a fantastic way to meet people who you may not have crossed path with otherwise and can act as really great networking tools.
You may end up meeting other volunteers working in the job or industry you want to be in, or just cracking people you can stay in touch with and become friends with.
You’ll be giving back to the community
Many volunteering opportunities are linked to community causes: such as Manchester Cares; volunteering for local hospitals or even volunteering for Scouts!
Some of these local causes often have little or no funding, so giving a few hours a week to help the running of these services can be crucial. It can be a great opportunity to give back to the people who need it most!
It is an easy way to develop your skills
Volunteering is a sure fire way to develop new skills and enhance the ones you already possess. There are several volunteering roles available, so it’s best to look at ones which really suit your personality and skill set.
The more volunteering you do, the more benefits you’ll experience; but don’t think that this needs to be constant dedication or a long-term commitment. Volunteering should always fit around your life and schedule, and remember it’s ok to have a day off every once in a while!
You can gain a new perspective of life
From my own personal experience, I have met wonderful people from all walks of life. More often than not, these people have completely different journeys to mine; by learning about their lives I have been able to see the world quite differently.
Whether you volunteer locally or abroad for a good cause, there’s always a strong chance you will meet someone who will change your opinion and view of the world.
Working at download festival
So, if you’re thinking of volunteering and unsure where to start, check out a few of the websites below.
For more information on how TeamKinetic can assist with your volunteer management and getting the best out of all your volunteers visit their website or contact them on – 0161 914 5757
With annual volunteers week kicking off, we thought it would be a good time to explain just exactly what volunteers week is and just how important it is. The whole week is about celebrating and thanking volunteers for the work they do all year round. This year we are very proud to be one of the 100 official partners of volunteer week 2019 for the first time thanks to @VolScotland.
Volunteer week began to be celebrated in 1984 originally being celebrated just in England. In 2013 they began A merger with the NCVO which led to volunteering week becoming a nation wide campaign. It does not matter how large or small a volunteering contribution is from an individual, everyone deserves to be thanked for their efforts which is what volunteering is all about.
How Important Is Volunteering To Society?
Many people are of the belief that volunteering is free. In ways that statement can be seen as true, volunteers do give up their time for free. However the idea that the third sector and volunteering is not worth a lot of money is incorrect.
Numbers show that volunteering is highly valuable to both organisations and the economy. Statistics show that volunteering is currently worth 22 billion. This is 1.2% of GDP in the UK. Volunteering and the third sector thriving can only be a positive thing for the economy.
The sheer amount of organisations that need volunteers shows just how necessary volunteering week is. In 2016, there were 165,000 voluntary organisations and a number of those are solely dependent on volunteers.
What Are TeamKinetic Doing For Volunteer Week?
I’m sure most of you will be absolutely bursting to know what TeamKinetic are doing for the 2019 volunteer week! So It’s a great shame that you’re going to have to wait! We have a lot of things planned for every day of the working week from the 3rd-7th.
To tide you over until we begin our full week of content we still have a host of industry blogs and YouTube Videos that you can watch on all of our features that can help you with any improvements you need with your volunteer management.
We have been improving volunteer management software for organisations for over a decade now and we have worked with some fantastic people. We are fast approaching 1 million volunteering hours which is something we are very proud of and hope that we can still be improving volunteering communities for many years to come and hopefully get to 10 million one day!
Paralympic Athlete Anna Jackson
Inspiring Volunteering Stories
Volunteering has had a presence in society for many years now meaning there are hundreds if not thousands of unique and inspiring stories that we could tell you about. Anna Jackson began her journey in sport playing hockey. After several operations on her knee it got to the point where she could no longer run meaning her love of playing and coaching came to an end. Unfortunately mental health issues followed and Anna developed depression. She says that wheelchair basketball changed her life. It allowed her to build her self confidence and identity back which just shows the power of just getting involved.
Anna went on to have a decade long career with the Great British wheelchair basketball team which even included participating in the 2000 Sydney Paralympics. As well as playing, Anna also coaches the sport and this is what she has to say about that: “I always say that, as a coach – whether as a volunteer or on the books – every day is a school day. I am always looking for new things to learn and try with my players and coaching clients. But the key thing about coaching is to help people to believe in themselves and their abilities.” This is one of the reasons volunteers week is so important. Saying Thank you and appreciating people like Anna for all the important work they do is something that should definitely be celebrated.
How Can You Celebrate Volunteer Week?
No matter if you manage volunteering, you are a volunteer or you have never been involved in anything before there are plenty of ways that you will be able to celebrate volunteers week. If you have in fact never been involved before the best way is to get involved! BothTeamKineticandDo-it both have 1000’s of volunteering opportunities up and down the country that you can get do and maybe even to start doing it regularly.
For those who manage volunteers, it would be great for you to think of a way you can thank them throughout the week or perhaps put something special on for them to make them aware just how truly appreciated they are.
How Can You Manage Your Volunteers Better?
If you want to supercharge your volunteer management and get better only managing but recruiting and retaining your volunteers We could be just what you’re looking for. We can help your create and build volunteering communities and make your volunteer programmes way more successful going forward. If you are interested in having a volunteer management software system please do not hesitate in getting into contact with us. You can either set up a free demo via our website or give us a call on 0161 914 5757.
We are confident that we will have a system that can cater to everyone. We work with organisations that range from local to global with small and large volunteer numbers. We’re so confident that we are competitive in price will price match anyone in the market.
My name is Elham Afzal (I go by El), and I’ll be guest blogging for TeamKinetic talking about my volunteer experience, and some of my career and professional life. As you will probably be seeing a few posts from me, I thought I would introduce myself and give you a feel of who I am and my journey.
So I am quite a busy bee, as you can imagine! However, I worked full time before coming to university to gain my Bachelor’s degree so having free time was quite a strange transition and why I’ve been keeping myself busy the last couple of years.
What volunteering means to me
Volunteering has always been part of my schedule, pre- and during university life! I have volunteered for Manchester Futsal (for just under 2 years now); Manchester Cares and British University Taekwondo League; as well as heaps of other sports and events related volunteering such as the GB Taekwondo championships.
My favourite thing about volunteering is that it a great introduction to an industry or job role that you may have never considered before. I have notoriously been rubbish with sports.
In year 9 I was kicked out of mandatory PE because my asthma was so uncontrolled, and I have always HATED any kind of exercise growing up, just because I could never do it.
Volunteering with sports at university has completely changed my perspective. I’ve not only been volunteering predominantly with sports teams (BUTL UK Taekwondo and Manchester Futsal as the main groups) but even joined the universities taekwondo team last year in September 2018, and I can proudly say I am loving being part of the team.
El x
For more information on how TeamKinetic can assist with your volunteer management and getting the best out of all your volunteers visit their website or contact them on – 0161 914 5757
Recently we hit a huge milestone in volunteer management. After ten years of being in the sector we have just reached one million hours of volunteering activity logged through the TeamKinetic system. This is something that as a company we are very proud to have achieved but realised it would not have been possible without all the people that both work on and use the system.
We want to take the time to thank everyone that has had any role to play in helping us reach this achievement. All our customers and staff but especially all the volunteers that participate and log every volunteer hour they have contributed.
We’re Not Stopping There!
Although we are very happy with a million hours, there is no way that we are stopping there! We are very keen to reach our next million and we would love YOU to be a part of that! If you are looking for a volunteer management software system or are keen on improving your volunteer management do not hesitate contact us.
We are also very responsive on our social media channels which are available down below:
We have a customer service line that is available Monday-Friday 9-5. When connected to a call you will be speaking to one of our experts who will be able to answer any of the questions you may have (0161 914 5757). If you have any other general inquiries please contact sales@teamkinetic.co.uk for more information. Alternatively you can visit our website and request your FREE demo of TeamKinetic today!
OurYouTube Channel is packed with videos summarising exactly how we can help you as well a load of videos on our many features that we feel set us apart from the rest.
To have a successful, functioning volunteer programme, you’ll need to avoid making simple but fatal mistakes. A detailed management strategy that puts the volunteer at the centre of it all is essential.
Volunteer management is like one big machine all the cogs need to work together in order to maintain efficiency, but sometimes this doesn’t always work out and errors are made.
Here are 3 volunteer management mistakes and how to avoid them!
Volunteers will be less inclined to donate their time if they can’t find you online
Avoiding a digital strategy now will cost you more in the future
Your organisation will not be as connected to its supporters
How to fix them
Invest time and money in creating a digital strategy. Many organisations still carry the assumption that going digital will cost them an arm or a leg, but there are several simple, free tools you can start using today. But utilising digital as an organisation doesn’t have to happen overnight. Start off with creating social media accounts and engage with hundreds of communities with the same ambitions as your organisation.
2. Lack of communication with volunteers
Communication serves as a foundation for planning. Without it, it’s very hard to get much done. So when it comes to managing volunteers there’s nothing more important than regular, clear communication. The workload on volunteer managers makes it difficult to keep track of everything and communication is usually the first thing that flies out of the window.
Issues it can cause
Volunteers don’t know what is required of them on the day (arrival time, logistics, location)
The struggle for volunteers to find upcoming opportunities
Frustration from volunteer could lead to their departure from your organisation
How to fix them
Volunteer management software of course! A volunteer system makes communicating with volunteers straightforward. TeamKinetic’s volunteer software comes with several tools to help you stay informed and connected to your volunteers. Automated emails can be sent out to specific opportunities and volunteer subgroups. Feedback functions also allow for regular interactions between the volunteer and opportunity providers.
Good volunteers will be sent to bad places and vice-versa
Potentially allowing a convicted individual to work with a vulnerable group due to low entry standards
Valuable time and energy are used up
How to fix them
When recruiting you should always start by understanding what it is you want out of the volunteer and define the role that is to be undertaken. Our volunteer software allows you to create specific, detailed opportunities with key information such as the volunteer requirements, perks of the opportunity and skills required. The system makes it easy to advertise volunteer vacancies with a click of a button. Opportunities can be shared across a wide range of channels such as social media, email and are linked to do-it.org.
We always try and avoid jargon but sometimes it is a little difficult when talking about the internet and software. When we talk about ‘domains’ we are really talking about the address or URL that your website will use so people can find you on the internet.
This is the address they type into their web browser to access your website.
TeamKinetic offers a variety of options with regards to the domain’s you can use, these options are somewhat dependant upon your choice of subscription.
In every subscription, there is some room for customisation and personalisation of this address.
So what are your options and what do they mean.
FREE subscription.
tryvolunteering.com/yourname
If you join us on our free version to use of TeamKinetic, you will be hosted on our FREE to access site TryVolunteering.com.
This means you will be assigned a web address that starts with “https://tryvolunteering.com” and you this will then be followed by your organisation’s name with all the spaces removed. So if your organisation name is “Harchester Utd FC” your website address will be.
Our Advanced level subscribers have their own application and as such have their own ‘subdomain’. What this means is you can add your organisation name to the start of the web address. An example would be
https://harchesterutdfc.teamkinetic.co.uk
From a user experience perspective, users feel more assured as your name is first in the address, and because the Advanced subscription offers significantly more customisation this combines for better overall user experience.
Enterprise Subscription
yourdomain.com
Enterprise subscribers have the benefit of greater customisation and personalisation. As an enterprise customer, you can select an available new and unique address for your site. Examples from our customers include
https://mcrvip.com
Or
https://Hockeymakers.co.uk
These URLs are purchased on behalf of our customers and remain the property of our customers but are managed by TeamKinetic on behalf of our customers as part of our ongoing agreement. In the event of that agreement coming to an end, we can arrange for that domain to be transferred or released depending on the needs of our customers.
A new domain is very easy to set up, requires no technical support or resource from our customer to manage, as TeamKinetic manage all this on our customer’s behalf.
Enterprise customers can also use a ‘sub-domain’ of an existing URL they already use our own. An example of this might be our customer the Youth Hostel Asociation who’s main website address is:
The volunteer team at the YHA wanted the TeamKinetic system to look and feel like it was part of the wider YHA web site. The best way to achieve this is to embed the TeamKinetic system into the YHA’s existing web brand. So the TeamKinetic system now live at
No matter what subscription you wish to use, TeamKinetic will support you in setting up your site and getting the address you want. We are available to walk you through your options and help you find the set up that you require for your volunteers.
For more information on how we can assist with your volunteer management and getting the best out of all your volunteers visit our website or contact us on – 0161 914 5757
