Who we are and what we do

This quarterly newsletter is designed to provide employees and employers with an overview of volunteer opportunities in and around the Malvern Hills District.

Malvern Hills Volunteering is an independent community organisation tasked with supporting volunteers across the region. We help people find volunteering roles to suit their skills, time and needs.

We offer volunteering opportunities beyond the workplace that offer an outlet in areas of personal interest. We are committed to providing engaging volunteering opportunities to develop skills, build confidence or offer the opportunity to work with and be with the local community.

Our aim is to work proactively to support the recruitment and engagement of corporate volunteers. To provide a variety of roles and projects. To enable volunteers to work within hours that suit their busy lives, whilst still contributing to the wider community.

We aim is to work together to provide success stories and positive outcomes for employers and employees.

Awareness days to consider this quarter :

November

• Movember, focussing on the health and well-being of men.
• Rememberance day
• Anti bullying week

December

• Decembeard month
• Grief awareness week

January

• Dry January
• World Braille day
• Blue Monday

Creating a win:win

I’ve had a few enquiries recently for volunteers to take on roles in local community groups as a board of trustees member.

Taking on the role of Trustee can be a great opportunity for those who want to grow their skills and confidence, or those aiming for management roles and additional responsibility. What is a trustee? Think of a Trustee as being similar or comparable to a Board Member. It’s a critical role; Trustees consider the needs of the charity or community group and how they can be met. Trustees also have an obligation to ensure that policies/resources are in place to allow legal requirements to be met. They oversee the management and administration of the charity or group.

Volunteering as a trustee is a great way to develop strategic and leadership skills or use skills already developed. Being a trustee is a great opportunity for those with less time to offer; most trustees volunteer around 30 hours a year, some are less. To find out more about the role of Trustee visit: The essential trustee: what you need to know, what you need to do - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Trustee facts and figures :

• In 2023, there were over 921,000 trustee positions at registered charities in the UK
• Many people don’t know what a trustee is or that trusteeship is open to them
• 96% of trustees said they had learned new skills
• 84% said being a trustee made them happier
• In 2023 the average size of a trustee board was 5.9 Trustees in UK

Corporate volunteering thinking of the bigger picture

I’ve been working with employers recently to find suitable Corporate Social Responsibility Days for individuals or groups. CSR days are a great way to work alongside local community groups and grow volunteer support.

Many community groups benefit from CSR days and the support they receive as well as an injection of helping hands.

As a business or employer, given some thought to the support you can provide a community group. The obvious answer is voluntary hours, but employers could choose to volunteer in other ways. That might include the provision of critical skills or experience. Here are some suggestions to consider;

• HR advice and support, including guidance around recruitment or policy development
• IT advice / hands on support or installation of equipment
• Marketing suggestions or creating publications or promotional material
• Social media awareness and planning
• Planning, project management
• Fundraising ideas / planning
• Access to printing factilities
• Focussing on a ‘chosen community group’ to support for the year
• Legal advice / guidance

Want to find out more; get in touch [email protected].

I'm passionate about helping people find their ideal volunteering role and growing volunteering participation through positive experiences and outcomes.

Author Bio:

Samantha Palmer, Volunteering Manager, Malvern Hills Volunteering

Experience:

Corporate Learning and Development background

Expertise in learning objectives and outcomes

Charity, Social Services and Corporate experience