Lincolnshire Volunteers Programme
LVET, alongside Voluntary Centre Services (VCS) and Lincolnshire Community and Voluntary Service (LCVS) and our digital partner Team Kinetic, is launching the Lincolnshire Volunteers Programme (LVP), a new digital platform supporting volunteering across the county.
Our aim is to see Lincolnshire as a county where community matters, with volunteering at its heart and where everybody’s contribution is valuable.
Our core objectives for the programme are:
1. Build upon the Covid-19 volunteering legacy, creating supportive relationships, reconnecting people into their local communities and overcoming loneliness and isolation.
2. Provide a wide range of enriching volunteering opportunities which enables people to contribute to society, provide a sense of purpose and provide a pathway into employment (if applicable), along with showcasing the diversity of volunteering opportunities available.
3. Provide a positive and supportive volunteer experience that is flexible to new initiatives and challenges.
4. Utilise digital technology to increase access to a range of volunteering opportunities and attract new volunteers.
Organisations across Lincolnshire will be able to use the Lincolnshire Volunteers Programme to advertise their volunteering opportunities for free across the county! This platform will be adopted by Volunteer Centres across Lincolnshire as their primary platform for advertising opportunities too.
Benefits for organisations:
- Their own public profile page within the platform, linking to their opportunities.
- The ability to self-manage opportunities and their content.
- The ability to self-manage their profile and contact information
- A volunteer management space
- Reporting and analysis of any volunteering activity linked to that organisation
The platform is live for organisations Mid-November 2023 and for volunteers January 2024! We’re encouraging as many organisations as possible to self-register and add their opportunities to the system, whilst being supported by Lincolnshire Volunteer Centres.
If you would like to be on the platform, please contact Abbi Taylor via email: abbi@voluntarycentreservices.org.uk or register on the link below (or click https://lincolnshirevolunteers.teamkinetic.co.uk/volunteers/registration-provider)
We recognise using a digital platform won’t be for everyone. Those who aren’t digitally enabled or who would prefer not to use IT will be supported by the Volunteer Centres across the county to access and utilise the system. The anticipated benefits for volunteers able to use the platform are outlined below:
Benefits for Volunteers / Prospective Volunteers:
- Easily able to access a wide and diverse range of volunteering opportunities, which can create a greater motivation for people to volunteer and reduce barriers.
- Notifications and alerts allow for volunteering opportunities to have an active presence and prompt increased activity levels.
- Allows people to immediately browse, interact with available opportunities and easily locate information.
- Enables volunteers to feel ‘part of something bigger’, with a Lincolnshire wide identity and using a Lincolnshire wide platform.
- Enables direct access to training opportunities across the county, often free to attend.
- Future scope to digitally store training, qualifications and skills, building a Social CV which could increase motivation and showcase their skillset.
- Personal benefits to the volunteer include (but not limited to): Making a positive difference, improving self-esteem, self-worth, confidence and wellbeing, meet new people, reduce social isolation and loneliness, feel valued, a sense of purpose and an opportunity to utilise existing skills as well as developing new ones.
For any more information, or would like any support, please contact Abbi Taylor, Volunteer Coordinator on Abbi@voluntarycentreservices.org.uk!
Background
Following the success of the multi-agency response and mobilisaton of volunteers in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we committed to developing a long-term Lincolnshire legacy, known as the Lincolnshire Volunteers Programme. This was supported through a grant from Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) and Lincolnshire Community Health Services (LCHS).
