Many of you will be aware of and perhaps attended the Torbay Volunteer Forum, which we facilitated, and used to be held on a quarterly basis at various venues in the Bay.
The forum was aimed at those with a responsibility or involvement in volunteering within their organisation, whether a staff member, trustee or volunteer themselves.
There were guest speakers presenting on topics relevant to volunteering, short workshops, discussion groups, and plenty of networking opportunities, before, during and after the sessions.
Due to the pandemic, there hasn’t been a forum for some time, but we would like to start these again as soon as possible, provided there is sufficient interest from groups to do so.
We are particularly keen to ensure the legacy of the pandemic in terms of the volunteering response to the crisis, whereby huge numbers of people stepped forward locally, to support those most in need, is not lost and local groups and communities will continue to benefit from the support of volunteers.
How can we ensure that the enthusiasm for volunteering is maintained and what actions can we take to build on this? How is your group faring in terms of volunteering recruitment post-pandemic and what support do you need to maintain and develop your volunteering offer?
How can we work together to ensure volunteers are well supported, trained, and have a positive experience of volunteering in the local voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector?
All of these questions and more could be discussed at the forum but we do need to ascertain the interest in restarting these again first before we embark on making the necessary arrangements and agreeing on the content of the meeting.
We would therefore be very grateful if you could respond to the following questions:
- Would your group/organisation attend a volunteering forum if this is organised in the coming and future weeks? (the forum would likely be in the morning for up to 3 hours on a weekday)
- Are there any topics or issues related to volunteering you would like covered at the forum?
- Are there any relevant guest speakers you know of, or would like us to contact, to present at the forum?
- Do you know of a suitable venue, or have a venue yourself that could be used for the forum?
- Your name, group name, and position.
(If you aren’t the main person responsible for volunteering in your organisation, please pass these details & questions on to the person that is)
Please send any responses to Robin Causley ([email protected]) by Thursday, 7th July, 12 noon.
