It goes without saying that this is the most unprecedented of times. There has already been a large volunteer response and over the coming weeks this will evolve and what is needed will change also (writes Volunteer Edinburgh Chief Officer PAUL WILSON).
At Volunteer Edinburgh we have been working flat out to adapt and respond and I know all of you will have been doing so too.
We thought it important to let you know what we have done so far and what we are going to do in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Advice on being a good neighbour
Many people around the city are wanting to help within their communities and our message is very much think local, act local. Just be a good neighbour. This is especially important given the current restrictions on movement.
We have a lot of advice for people who want to be good neighbours on our website here and we also have information for individual citizens on how to so this safely. This information is evolving constantly so please continue to refer people to it.
Do you need volunteers?
I know many volunteer involving organisations across the city have been adjusting and adapting to the current crisis. Your available volunteer numbers may well be down as a result of self-isolation or it may be that there are more or different opportunities that you need volunteer support with. We are being approached by many people who want to volunteer. If you need volunteers please use our existing online advertising routes here.
If you have not used this before and need support to do so contact us on 0131 225 0630 or email paul.bennett@
If your opportunity is COVID-19 related please use COVID-19 in either the title or the role description as this will mean your opportunity is automatically added to our COVID-19 volunteering opportunities listing.
Appeal to volunteer managers
If you are an experienced volunteer manager but you are not currently engaging or managing volunteers, for whatever reason, we are looking for your help. If you think you can support some of the work that we will be doing over the coming weeks please let us know by contacting javier.tejera@
We are currently working hard to coordinate a wide volunteer response to support vital services over the coming weeks. We are likely to need some help from volunteering professionals. So if you think you can help please let us know.
Engaging new volunteers at this time
Anyone engaging new volunteers during this crisis knows that normal best practice processes that we use may be difficult to maintain. It is important to consider how you can adapt your practices and be pragmatic while safely engaging volunteers. It may not be possible to get references for example. Social distancing requirements may make orientation challenging. Here are a few ideas which you might find useful:
Can you put your applications on line? Perhaps consider using Google Docs?
Can interviews and indeed orientation/induction be done via Skype/Zoom/WhatsApp?
References are likely to be impracticable at the moment. Can you ask for people to verify their identity more than you usually do? Remember many larger employers will undertake a variety of checks on employees, so if someone can prove they work for a particular company consider whether that can provide you with additional confidence.
Can you record your orientation/induction on a phone so that you can use it repeatedly? This is not the time to be worrying about production values!
You can find out further information about regulated work and PVGs here.
If you have a genius idea on adapting your volunteer recruitment please share it with us and we will let people know.
Inspiring Volunteer Awards
Of course our Inspiring Volunteer Awards which were scheduled for Wednesday 3 June have now been postponed. No decision of a new date has been made for the moment.
Rest assured that we will keep in touch when any further action or decisions have been made. If you have any questions then please contact events@volunteeredinburgh.org.
Support from EVOC
Our Third Sector Interface partner EVOC would like to know what support organisations might need from them at this time. Please take a moment to complete their survey.
EVOC are also soon to launch a downloadable resource which will detail some of the emerging third sector and community groups work across the city. Remember that EVOC can signpost your organisation to networks or to similar organisations who are looking to collaborate around themes. For this contact info@evoc.org.uk.
If organisations are looking to source free training on anything that this is useful at the moment, can they email requests to julieanne.hill@evoc.org.uk for more information.
Thank you,
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