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Aware Information Evening (Tuesday 1 March 2011)

logo_awareAware e are having an information evening on Tuesday, 1st March for people interested in volunteering with their e-mail support service. The service responds to e-mails from people looking for help with their depression and other issues. The evening will be from 5.30 to 7pm and application forms will be available on the night.

For more information contact
John Bennett
Aware
72 Lower Leeson Street,
Dublin 2
Tel: 01 661 7211
Dir: 01 237 4916
Fax: 01 661 7217
loCall Helpline: 1890 303 302

Bulb Planting in Swords (30 October)

BULB PLANTING - SATURDAY 30th OCTOBER 2010 @ 2-4pm

NEW LOCATION! Sorry for the confusion but the NEW LOCATION FOR BULB PLANTING is ALONG THE DISTRIBUTION ROAD.

Meet at 2pm on the DISTRIBUTION ROAD opposite entrance to NEWTOWN PARKS and SELSKAR AVENUE BRING YOUR SHOVELS AND PLANT FOR SPRING!

Source: Angela Murphy

European Employee Volunteering Awards (Closing date December 6th)

Employee Volunteering AwardThe European Employee Volunteering Awards aim to recognise companies of all sizes across Europe that have developed schemes that help people facing barriers to work increase their employability skills.

Run by the Business in the Community International Team and co-funded by the European Commission, the project is closely aligned to the European Year of Volunteering 2011. It is supported by Business in the Community\'s Awards for Excellence Manager Claire Brady and a consortium of expert partners, including four CSR360 GPN partners (UPJ, SMART Kolektiv, Warsaw Volunteer Centre, Foretica), CSR Europe, the Corporate Citizenship, the East England Development Agency and a group of international practitioners from KPMG and Freshfields. The European Employee Volunteering Awards Scheme is sponsored by Alliance Boots and Tata Consultancy Services.

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European Year of Volunteering 2011 (EYV 2011)

Volunteer - Make a Difference!                                                                logo_eyv2011

Volunteer! Make a difference

The messages of EYV2011 are two-fold: To celebrate current volunteers for their efforts (recognition), in other words a ‘THANK YOU’ approach; and to empower new people to volunteer, the ‘YOU CAN’ approach (promotion and facilitation).

The experience of community and voluntary organisations shows that there is a need at all levels - EU, national, regional and local - to increase volunteering and the awareness of the added value it brings to European society, to celebrate volunteers, involve more volunteers and improve the policy framework on volunteering.

Therefore, the general objectives of EYV 2011 are

1. Recognition and awareness raising on the value of volunteering

2. Celebration of volunteer efforts

3. Empowerment of people and volunteer organisations

4. Work towards the creation of an enabling environment for volunteering including a volunteering infrastructure

EYV 2011 & IYV+10:

Working together in 2011

2011 is the tenth anniversary of the 2000 International Year of Volunteers and is being marked by IYV+10.  IYV+10 and the European Year of Volunteering (EYV 2011) are conceptually linked together and share many of their goals.

The common focus of EYV 2011 and IYV+10 poses an invaluable opportunity to explore synergies and collective initiatives to promote and recognise volunteerism in 2011.  EYV 2011 and

IYV+10 provide an opportunity for engagement with both the EU and UN policy debates about volunteering and to celebrate and promote volunteering in all its forms through different

governmental and non-governmental structures. Volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations are encouraged to engage with the activities offered by EYV 2011 and IYV+10 to promote volunteering and improve volunteering infrastructures for volunteer-involving organisations, volunteers and their communities.

Why a European Year of

Volunteering in 2011?

More than 100 million Europeans engage in voluntary activities and through this make a difference to our society. A Eurobarometer survey in 2006 revealed that 3 out of 10 Europeans claim to be active in a voluntary capacity and that close to 80% of respondents feel that voluntary activities are an important part of democratic life in Europe.

The network of Volunteer Centres in Ireland (who provide support for Volunteers and Volunteering Involving Organisations) dealt with over 13,000 registrations in 2010. Of these:

* 61% have never volunteered before

* 68% are aged 35 or under, of which 50% are 25 or younger

* 40% of people find out about Volunteer Centres via the internet and more than 75% of registrations come through the web

* The most popular area in which people want to volunteer is youth / children or education / literacy - but 10% of people don\'t know what they want to do, they just know they want to do something!

* 38% are motivated to volunteer primarily from altruistic reasons (give back; make a difference; do something in the community), 33% by other needs (gain / improve skills; free time; work experience)

There is a vast array of notions, definitions and traditions concerning volunteering.

What is common throughout Europe is that wherever people engage together in activities to help each other, support those in need,

preserve our environment, campaign for human rights, or initiate actions to help ensure that everyone enjoys a decent life, both society as a whole and the individual volunteer benefits and social cohesion is significantly strengthened.

Why volunteering matters:

Volunteers are the agents of European values and objectives as laid down in the Treaties, in particular in terms of promoting social cohesion, solidarity, and active participation. Theirs are the hands that translate these values into action, day after day;

* Volunteering contributes to building a European identity rooted in these values and towards attaining a mutual understanding between people in society and across Europe;

* Volunteering in its horizontal nature is indispensable in a wide range of EU policy areas such as social inclusion, the provision of life-long learning opportunities for all, policies affecting young people, inter-generational dialogue, active aging, integration of migrants, intercultural dialogue, civil protection, humanitarian aid and development, sustainable development and environmental protection, human rights, social service delivery, raising employability, the promotion of an active European citizenship, fighting the "digital gap", and within corporate social responsibility;

* Volunteering has a considerable economic value. The voluntary sector contributes an estimated 5% to the GDP of our national economies;

* Volunteers and their organisations are at the forefront of developing innovative actions to detect, voice and respond to needs arising in society.

* Volunteers mirror the diversity of European society with people of all ages, women and men, employees and unemployed, people

from different ethnic backgrounds and belief groups and citizens from all nationalities being involved.

However, 7 in 10 people do not volunteer and many people face barriers towards volunteering such as a lack of information on how to become involved; time pressure; scarce economic resources and the feeling of not being able to "afford" to volunteer; negative associations surrounding volunteering stemming from times where volunteering was a rather "compulsory duty"; discrimination; discouraging legal provisions and an absence of a legal status; missing protection against risks involved; visa or other barriers for non EU citizens – to name just a few of these obstacles.

Volunteering is freely given, but not cost free. It needs and deserves targeted support from all stakeholders – volunteer organisations, government at all levels, businesses and an enabling policy environment including a volunteering infrastructure.

While the EU has increasingly paid attention to volunteering in all its forms over recent years, we are still far from a comprehensive strategy and action at the European level to promote, recognize, facilitate and support volunteering in order to realize its full potential.

Events and activites during 2011

There will be a number of national, regional and local events organised during EYV 2011.   Details of these events and activities, can be accessed from your local Volunteer Centre’s web site. You will also be able to find a calendar of events on www.volunteer.ie.

To find how you can get involved in the European Year of Volunteering why not download our information sheet “Ways to get involved in EYV 2011” from the web site of your local Volunteer Centre or from Volunteer Centres Ireland: www.volunteer.ieEuropean Year of Volunteering 201Volunteer! Make a difference(Updated 13 December 2010)

The messages of EYV2011 are two-fold: To celebrate current volunteers for their efforts (recognition), in other words a ‘THANK YOU’ approach; and to empower new people to volunteer, the ‘YOU CAN’ approach (promotion and facilitation). 

The experience of community and voluntary organisations shows that there is a need at all levels - EU, national, regional and local - to increase volunteering and the awareness of the added value it brings to European society, to celebrate volunteers, involve more volunteers and improve the policy framework on volunteering.  EYV 2011 Objectives

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Free information evening on volunteering in the developing countries (3 Febraury 2011)

logo_comhlamhAre you thinking about volunteering overseas? Comhlámh is holding a free information evening for people who are thinking about volunteering overseas in developing countries. It will take place on February 3rd in the Irish Aid Volunteering and Information Centre on O’Connell Street between 6 and 7.30pm.

This short, informal event offers the opportunity to hear more about the issues you need to consider before making a decision about volunteering. It also provides an opportunity to hear from people who have already volunteered overseas and to ask any questions you might have. Please register your interest by emailing Stephanie or by calling her on 01 4783490.

Ireland\'s Top Teens - Foróige Citizenship Awards (TV3, November 7 & 14)

Irelands Top Teens‘Irelands Top Teens’ will be broadcast on Sunday 7th November at 6.15pm and Sunday 14th November at 6pm on TV3. The show highlights ten of the groups that took part in Foróige Citizenship Awards in 2010. The first show features the groups and their projects and the second show is all from the awards ceremony in the Helix.

This is a fantastic way to highlight the great work being done by young people all over the country. 148 groups entered the citizenship awards this year so let’s give these young stars the limelight they deserve. Please tune in and show your support for these great young people.

Irish Cancer Society Christmas Charity Bag Pack (11 & 12 December)

Irish Cancer SocietyIrish Cancer Society are holding their Christmas Charity Bag packing this December. Please raise much needed funds for the Irish Cancer Society by volunteering your school or club to shake a bucket or pack some groceries in your local Tesco store this December. Please contact Kate (01)231 6629, Cliodhna (01) 231 6628 or Elaine (01) 231 6627 at the Irish Cancer Society to get involved.

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Volunteer Now Conference - “Surfing the Silver Wave" (March 24 2011)

logo_volunteernowVolunteer Now, the organisation that provides regional and local leadership to volunteering in Northern Ireland, is hosting a one day international conference. “Surfing the Silver Wave, exploring Civic Engagement and Wellbeing in an ageing society” will

  • Present alternatives to turn the challenge of an ageing population into opportunities for communities.
  • Encourage organisations from all sectors to see the positive opportunities for community participation offered by increasing numbers of people, often highly skilled, moving into retirement.
  • Promote employee involvement in volunteering both pre and post retirement.
  • Inform policy makers as well as health and social care providers of the positive impact of volunteering on the health of older people.
  • Explore different methods of service delivery, income generation, and sustainability through initiatives such as Time Banking and Social Enterprise.

 

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Volunteering, a Stepping Stone to a Career in Development (22 January 2011)

logo_comhlamhComhlamh are organising a seminar entitled, Volunteering, a Stepping Stone to a Career in Development? The seminar is taking place on 22nd January between 3 and 5pm, at the Mansion House in Dublin. Anyone who is interested in a career in development is encouraged to attend. Don Mullan, humanitarian and author is the keynote speaker for the event. The event will also include: an insight from Concern Worldwide’s HR Manager and advice on careers in the sector from a panel of speakers. There will also be an opportunity for a questions and answers session. For more information, please contact Stephanie at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on (01) 478 3490.