Is it once-off, during a particular timeframe or on an ongoing basis?
For many community organisations it is hard to accommodate large numbers of people at one time. If your company or department is big consider volunteering in smaller groups over a number of days or choose a variety of volunteer projects instead of just one.
e.g. the environment, working with the elderly, poverty alleviation etc? Even better, do your staff have specialised skills they could share with a non-profit organistaion? For example, I.T. professionals who could help with a website or financial or legal professionals who might be able to offer specialised advice or join a board.
e.g. paint and materials, refreshments if taking a group of people on a social activity etc?
You will need one person to be responsible for organising the volunteering and liaising with the volunteer centre and community organisation.
The Volunteer Centre has a list of once-off volunteer projects that could accommodate a group of volunteers. This list is updated as and when we get new projects and typically includes things like painting, environmental clean-ups and gardening projects. If you would like to find out what we currently have available please contact us on 047 72191 or info@volunteermonaghan.ie. You might also find it useful to check the Time Limited Commitment and Practical Work categories in the ‘Find an Opportunity’ section of our website to see if there’s anything suitable there.
Community and voluntary organisations continually struggle with the issue of funding and would really benefit if you could raise funds for them. Any amount would be greatly appreciated. A number of people within your team/company could take on this role by organising fun or creative events that would also bring your team closer together.
Local community organisations have told us how they would greatly benefit from the support of a company or group over a period of time. Depending on the charity’s needs there are numerous ways in which you could support them: offering a room for a training event; fundraising (helping with bag packs, quizzes, sponsored hill walks); offering skills/knowledge within your company/group; offering hands-on support (helping to do up client facilities). ’Adopting’ a charity enables your team to become more aware and involved in your community through ongoing support of a local project. It also provides greater choice for people on your team to use their skills and interests in a more sustained way. The Volunteer Centre would be delighted to sit down with you and help you to choose a suitable charity.
There are lots of people in the community that would absolutely love a visit from a group or to be taken out for the afternoon for coffee, or bowling or something similar. Do you know any daycare centres for the elderly, any children’s clubs, bodies that work with people who have disabilities, reception centres that house asylum seekers? Your gift of time would be worth so much to someone who loves a friendly face. Can anyone on your team/organisation tell stories, play instruments or sing? These are all gifts that would be greatly appreciated by people who may not necessarily have a lot of visitors or the opportunity to go out on social events. The Volunteer Centre can assist you in finding a group in your community.
If employees from your company/team would like to volunteer on an ongoing basis they can search our database for a complete range of opportunities or come in to the Volunteer Centre to discuss their options. Alternatively, we can arrange for someone to go out and give a talk on volunteering to a group of your employees/team members. Many large employers now offer staff a number of “volunteer days” each year, when they volunteer during work hours and are paid as normal.
If you are part of a company you might consider offering your time and skills to help build the capacity of community and voluntary groups. Many community groups could benefit from better knowledge of or access to technical/professional services such as HR, accountancy, health and safety, board development, fundraising, ICT, strategic planning etc. Ways in which companies could greatly help are by offering advice, mentoring or a workshop in a particular field. The volunteering could be once-off, over an agreed number of days/weeks or on an ongoing basis.
