Volunteers' Week 2011 - 3 weeks to go!

posted by mike_gale on Thu, 12/05/2011 - 12:01pm
mike_gale's picture

Volunteers' Week 2011, sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, takes place from 1-7 June. Now in its 27th Year, the Week celebrates the millions of volunteers who give their time and acts as a call for others to get involved too.

Our dedicated website - www.volunteersweek.org.uk  has a host of information and resources including:

Our regular Volunteers' Week e-newsletter provides informative updates. It's easy to sign up on the website for your own copy.

Hundreds of events and activities are taking place across the UK, from a 2012 Games double decker bus tour to a festival of volunteering and celebration parties for volunteers.

Volunteers' Week is a great opportunity to publicise the work you and your volunteers are doing, attract new supporters and make useful contacts. It is also lots of fun.

If you don't have the resource to arrange an event yourself, consider joining an existing event and sharing the workload. Contact your local Volunteer Centre, who may have details, or simply type your postcode into the event locator on our website. 

For more information about Volunteers Week 2011, email Mike Gale at: mike.gale@volunteering.org.uk / Tel. (0207) 520 8920 / 07703 317874.

Comments

On Fri, 13/05/2011 - 10:18am
<p>I'm&nbsp;really looking forward to Volunteers' Week! What a great opportunity to focus on celebrating volunteering in general, the contribution of volunteers and of course highlight the importance of well-managed volunteering programmes!&nbsp;We're sending out a volunteer management survey to all our voluntary staff&nbsp;next week so we can publicise the results and our action plan for improving our management and volunteer experience during Volunteers' Week.&nbsp;We'll be profiling some of our volunteers and celebrating volunteering as a whole at Greenhouse and&nbsp;further afield.&nbsp;It's taking me into the realms of filming and even tweeting which I haven't personally&nbsp;explored before! I hope the work we do for that week&nbsp;will take me one step closer towards changing the culture towards volunteering here. I'll be excited to see what everyone else has planned to recognise the contribution of their volunteers. Off to sign up for the e-newsletter now!</p>
By Helen Varley -- Strategic Volunteering Manager for CLIC Sargent

On Mon, 16/05/2011 - 1:15pm
<p>Hi Helen,</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Great to hear you've got such enthusaism for Volunteers' Week, and to see such strong commitment to good volunteer management practice at Greenhouse. I'm sure AVM would be interested to hear the findings of your volunteer management survey and how you put them into effect.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Funnily enough, this year's Volunteers' Week has brough about my first ever 'tweet', so I know how you feel on that score!</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>All the best,</p><p>Mike</p>
By mike_gale

On Fri, 27/05/2011 - 1:52pm
<p>&nbsp;</p><p>Volunteers Week (An alternative perspective)&nbsp;</p><p><strong>A Valentines Day, metaphor </strong></p><p>&nbsp;A <em>"friend"</em> and I were having a conversation the other day about Valentines Day; during the conversation he said to me that he never gave his partner of 30 years plus, Roses or other such gifts on the day.&nbsp;</p><p>The reason why; was that he did not subscribe to the concept of having a designated pre-prescribed day for this, a week for that, a year for this, a year of that.</p><p>In fact, he felt things had become so distorted, that he had even heard that there was now a national orgasm day! At this point I smiled, and thought to my self. Hmm...I must have missed that one!&nbsp;</p><p>My Friend was very clear in that his partner did receive bouquets of Roses, and indeed all manner of other romantic gestures.</p><p>However, importantly he stressed that she received these throughout the year, at random, and often the most unexpected times, and not because a third party has decreed that this was <em>the </em>day to be romantic!</p><p>I mean he said; if you truly believe in love, then how can you possibly prescribe romance!? That on this day you WILL publically and openly express your love, and how much you care about someone; what utter nonsense, how false, and contrived he said.</p><p>He felt the fact that he demonstrated how much he cared for someone in the moment, and when it really meant something, that this was far more romantic, heartfelt and sincere, than the usual sight of seeing ashen faced Men hurriedly trying to buy flowers at the last minute from local supermarket, or fuel station, because they had forgotten, or left it until the last minute, but non the less felt they had to be seen to be doing something, or be seen as being out of step, unromantic, etc.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As a result, he said, he was sure that many of us have experienced, or know of others who have experienced the often raw feelings that are around when a significant other turns up with last minute, wilted petrol station carnations soaked heavy in the perfume of diesel and alpine tree air freshener, and subsequently expressing how much they care, value and love you! &nbsp;</p><p>Heresy?, Maybe! ...It's all a matter of perspective.&nbsp;</p><p>Best Wishes</p><p>The Devils Advocate</p>
By nshaw