Engagement & Inclusion E-Bulletin August 2022
Welcome to our E-Bulletin for August 2022
Our E-bulletin is aimed at organisations who are working with groups and individuals who might benefit from volunteering. Our intention is to keep you up to date with our latest news and developments. If you have anything you would like us to include, please contact emma.mclean@volunteerglasgow.org or eliza.gearty@volunteerglasgow.org.
Get Into Volunteering
Summer is drawing to a close … but there’s no need to get the blues. Here at Volunteer Glasgow, we’ve got that refreshed, ‘back-to-school’ sort of feeling. That’s why we’ve got a great campaign coming up – #GetIntoVolunteering – which will highlight all of the amazing services we’re offering this Autumn.
We’ll be sharing all the various ways we can support people you work with to ‘get into volunteering’, including by offering face-to-face appointments, supporting young people with the Saltire Award and hosting our brand new open-to-the-public Get Ready To Volunteer sessions. 
Keep an eye on our social media channels (Volunteer Glasgow on Facebook, @volunteerglasgo on Twitter and volunteerglasgow on Instagram) to keep up to date – the campaign will run 22nd – 26th August.
Welcome Graham and Issmat!
Please join us in giving a warm welcome to our two newest members of the team, Graham and Issmat. Both have superb experience in the third sector and are already bringing some great ideas to the Volunteer Glasgow E&I table.
Graham says: “having worked across a range of services, I have seen the benefits of volunteering for both individuals and organisations. I’m excited to be part of the team and look forward to working to improve lives by promoting voluntary opportunities and all of our services.”
Issmat says: “Working within the third sector, I have welcomed the opportunity to support and empower members of the community to overcome barriers and access opportunities, in volunteering and in the workplace. I am passionate about contributing to the needs of marginalized groups and supporting them in their development. I look forward to supporting VG in promoting high quality and inclusive volunteering opportunities to benefit both volunteers and organisations.”
We’re delighted to have them on board!
Face-to-Face Appointments
We are now taking bookings for face to face appointments at our office at Brunswick House. We can support you to use our website and apply for roles, or just have an informal chat about volunteering. If you would like to make an appointment with one of our team, please contact engagement@volunteerglasgow.org. Don’t be shy – we’ll even make you a cuppa!
Get Ready To Volunteer – In Person Sessions
Drum roll… we’re so excited to announce that we will be soon be hosting our first ever open-to-the-pubic, in-person Get Ready To Volunteer session!
We’ve long been delivering these sessions to service-users, students and other groups via our partnering organisations. Now we will be opening up the sessions to the general public – so that anyone can book a place and learn more about volunteering.
The first open Get Ready To Volunteer session will take place in person on Wednesday 7th September in Glasgow city centre – exact location TBC. Follow us on social media for further updates or contact engagement@volunteerglasgow.org. You can now book a space for this session here.
The general volunteering session will last approximately 1 hour, and cover the following:
- What is volunteering?
- Where you can volunteer?
- Benefits of volunteering
- Things to consider before volunteering
- How to register with Volunteer Glasgow and search for opportunities
Referral Agency Networking Sessions
You can now book a place on one of our Quarterly Networking sessions, which are taking place on the following dates:
- Tuesday 30th August 10.30am-12pm on Teams
Or
- Thursday 1st September 1.30-3pm on Zoom
These sessions may be useful for you and your colleagues if you want to find out more about Volunteer Glasgow services, or would like to share experiences and information about volunteering with your peers from other organisations.
Volunteering Toolkit Training Sessions
These training sessions aim to enable your organisation to deliver your own volunteering information sessions, and will help you provide better support to clients to help them access volunteering. Our next session is booked for September 28th and you can book your place here.
Telephone and Virtual Appointments
Contact engagement@volunteerglasgow.org if you would like to make an appointment for yourself or a client or service user to speak with an Adviser about volunteering.
Boost Your Employability
Boost Your Employability is an online ‘event’ page that highlights programmes running in the city that offer a range of personal development opportunities and may work well in conjunction with volunteering. The page is updated regularly. If you have any programmes you would like to promote, please contact emma.mclean@volunteerglasgow.org. Please note, this is not an online event that you attend but an event for us to promote different programmes that are happening across Glasgow which might help people boost their employability and, combined with volunteering, provide an opportunity to learn new skills, build confidence and to gain valuable practical experience. If you are an organisation providing an employability or personal development programme and would like our assistance in promoting it, please get in touch and we will add a description to the event page.
Become a Mentor with MCR Pathways
National mentoring charity MCR Pathways are looking for volunteer mentors to sign up to help support pupils. Their Young Talent programme runs in all 30 of Glasgow’s secondary schools and they are especially looking for mentors in the north east of Glasgow, as well as in Knightswood, Summerston, Castlemilk, Rosshall, and Drumchapel High Schools.
Anyone over the age of 21 can register, no qualifications are required and full training is provided. When one person mentors, two lives are changed. The young person’s confidence and engagement in school increases, while mentors gain active listening, relationship building and coaching skills.
To get involved, please visit https://opportunities.volunteerglasgow.org/volunteers/opportunity/10185353 or find out more on their social channels @MCRPathways.
And finally…
It’s well-known that volunteering is good for you, but did you know that it could even help you live longer? Research suggests that people who volunteer may live longer than those who don’t (as long as their reasons for volunteering are to help others as well as themselves).
Another good reason to #GetIntoVolunteering!
