Barbara has been working with the Louth Volunteer Centre since October 2010. As Placement Officer, she helps and supports volunteers to find suitable volunteering opportunities. She works with voluntary and community groups to ensure that there are a variety of identified roles available for volunteers to participate in. In her role as Outreach officer, she is available to meet with organisations and volunteers out in the community to provide on-going support.  The main purpose of her work is to promote and advocate for volunteering within the Louth Community. Throughout the year she has done some volunteering work with a number of the organisations.

Barbara also currently works part-time for the National Learning Network as Rehabilitation Officer which involves supporting and advocating for the learners on the organisations training programme. She also does some work with Arthritis Ireland supporting the Helpline Volunteers with training and Counselling support.

Barbara has previously worked for 10 years in the Recruitment Sector.  During this time she has managed sales teams, networked with local and multinational organisations, provided training and advice on career development and managed large recruitment campaigns and preferred supplier agreements.
She holds a BA Honours Degree in Business Studies, post-grad in Legal Studies and is a qualified Psychotherapist & Counsellor. 

t: 041 980 6900 Drogheda Office (Tuesday)

Karen joined the Louth Volunteer Centre in May 2008. Central to her work is the aim to provide a free, high quality volunteer placement service in a friendly and professional manner, where volunteering is the focus of her work. She aims to offer professional support and advice to organisations around their volunteering needs, so that they can achieve best practice principles in volunteer management. She also facilitates the National Volunteer Management Training Programme, to organisations working in County Louth.

Her background is in Community/Social Care and Adult Education. She has achieved a number of certifications in Training and Development. She worked for a number of years as a Project Worker with Barnardos and then became Manager of a Family Support Project, which she managed for seven years. She worked as the Drug Misuse Outreach Worker, HSE for County Meath. She also worked as the Co-ordinator of a “Back to Education” Initiative for Adult Learners. She has worked alongside and managed volunteers in some of these positions. In all of these areas in which she has worked, she found the contribution of these volunteers, both invaluable and committed. She has, in her personal life, undertaken many volunteering roles, such as being a Director on Boards/Companies. She also held the position of Vice-chairperson on the local Parents School Council. 

Karen qualified with a Diploma in Social Care and a Diploma and BA (Hons) Degree in Community Studies.  She holds a Fetac Level 6 Qualification in Training and Development and also obtained a Distinction in the “Train the Trainers” course she undertook with the Irish Institute of Training and Development.

She enjoys liaising with and supporting organisations in achieving best practice, in terms of organisations involving volunteers in their work. She also enjoys facilitating the National Volunteer Management Training Programme. She finds it rewarding when a volunteer finds a role, which fits their skills, interests and/or enthusiasm. I feel Louth Volunteer Centre makes an invaluable contribution to the community, in terms of offering people the opportunity to give something back in relation to volunteering.

Volunteer Centres provide a placement service between individuals and groups who want to undertake voluntary activity and organisations that are seeking to involve volunteers. Their primary function is to match individuals and groups interested in volunteering with appropriate volunteering opportunities. To do this, they offer advice and support to both volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations through a range of services that include information provision, consultation, training and Garda Vetting.

Local Volunteer Centres provide an invaluable link between individuals wishing to undertake voluntary activity and organisations seeking to involve volunteers. Volunteer Centres believe passionately in the value of volunteering and the benefits of volunteering for all: the individual, the volunteer-involving organisation and the wider society. They contribute to community development, active citizenship and social capital and are a vital component of any national volunteering infrastructure, providing local support at the same time as informing future initiatives and national policy. In addition to placing volunteers, Volunteer Centres stimulate and encourage volunteering by promoting volunteering at local, regional and national events and in local, regional and national campaigns.

They work towards breaking down the barriers to volunteering, targeting specific groups of people who are under- or unrepresented in volunteering. Volunteer Centres develop volunteering opportunities through consultation with local voluntary and community organisations. They recognise the potential of volunteering and encourage groups and organisations – be they private, statutory or voluntary and community – to think creatively about volunteering roles and to develop imaginative, non-traditional opportunities for potential volunteers. In addition, Volunteer Centres work to promote good practice in working with volunteers through the delivery of training and support.

They campaign and respond to legislation that may impact on volunteering and, as local experts on volunteering, inform planning and policy at regional and national level. Volunteer Centres would never claim to ‘own’ volunteering. Rather, they take a pro-active approach to facilitating and enabling volunteering. They will work with any organisation that seeks to do likewise. The Irish government is committed to developing the volunteering infrastructure in Ireland, including through supporting local Volunteer Centres. This is outlined in Towards 2016 and the National Development Plan, 2007-2013. In June 2009, the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs issued its Policy on Volunteer Centres.