Job Seekers Guide to Volunteering
Click here to view the Jobseekers Guide to Volunteering
Click here to view the Jobseekers Guide to Volunteering
The latest World Giving Index (Nov 2015) by the Charities Aid Foundation has been published and it ranks Ireland as number one in Europe in terms of volunteering time.
Ireland once again ranks in the top ten on the overall index, coming in at ninth in the world and second in Europe behind the UK. The index is based on three criteria: helping a stranger, donating money and volunteering time. Ireland comes in at number one in Europe for volunteering, ranking seventh globally.
The Irish people have always been very generous with their time and that is evidenced once again by this index. However, it is important that we don’t become complacent and continue to build on our great culture. There is no reason why Ireland shouldn’t aim to be number one in the world for volunteering.
According to Terri Doherty, Co-ordinator, Longford Volunteer Centre“We are lucky to have a great culture of volunteering in this country but we can never have too many volunteers! Volunteers contribute to every aspect of Irish society and this country would look very different without them. The nature of volunteering has changed so much in recent years that there really is a volunteering role for everyone. Not every role requires a long-term commitment and some don’t even require a physical presence. We are seeing more and more once off and short term volunteering opportunities. There is even some volunteering that can be done in the comfort of your own home. I would encourage anyone who is thinking about volunteering to get in touch and see what is out there.”
The Volunteer Managers Network Meetings is an opportunity to meet other Volunteer Managers, to share experiences and get support in dealing with issues in Volunteer Management.
The next meeting is planned for Wednesday March 21st 2018 at 11am. Venue to be advised.
The subsequent meetings will be held on June 6th and October 3rd 2018
Percentage of persons aged 15 or over who volunteered and number of hours volunteered Q3 2013 | ||||||
Age Group | Total | Number of hours volunteered in 12 months | ||||
% | ('million) | |||||
State | 28.4 | 232.8 | ||||
15 - 24 | 16.8 | 16.0 | ||||
25 - 34 | 21.7 | 23.1 | ||||
35 - 44 | 30.3 | 41.4 | ||||
45 - 54 | 38.0 | 58.8 | ||||
55 - 64 | 37.2 | 52.2 | ||||
65+ | 27.8 | 41.2 |
A module on volunteering and a pilot module on subjective well-being were included in the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) in the three months from July to September 2013 (quarter 3). This release presents the results from those modules.
Summary of main results
Volunteering
The overall rate of volunteering for the country stood at 28.4% of persons in Quarter 3 2013. This figure included all types of work outside the volunteer’s household as long as it was unpaid and non-compulsory. The value of this work (after annualising the hours and applying the national minimum wage) amounted to over €2 billion annually. While the percentage of those volunteering was broadly similar between men and women it was only when looking at the number of hours and value that one sees a somewhat different picture.See table 1.1.
Over 47% of all volunteering hours were carried out by those aged 45 to 64. Those who volunteered the least number of hours were the 15 to 24 age group (6.9% of hours). Over a quarter of those aged 65 and above volunteered and accounted for over 41 million annualised hours (17.7%). See figure 1 and table 1.1.
Although those who were classified as single represented 41% of the adult population they only accounted for 29.4% of all volunteering hours. Also they were less likely to volunteer (22.1%). This compared with those who were married, where 33.8% volunteered and they accounted for 56.3% of all volunteer hours.
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One in five people don’t volunteer because they don’t know how to get involved
Longford Volunteer Centre is calling on the public to get involved in volunteering in the community next month – as National Volunteering Week takes place from May 11-17th.
National Volunteering Week highlights the multitude of ways that individuals and organisations can get involved in supporting causes, aiding charities and helping in their local communities.
Research commissioned by Volunteer Ireland has found that for 20% of people the main barrier to getting involved in volunteering is not knowing where or how to find opportunities. However, Longford Volunteer Centre is determined to change this during National Volunteering Week.
Encouragingly the research, carried out by nfpSynergy, also found that 25% of Irish adults are involved in regular volunteering. The most common place where people volunteer, at 72%, is with a local charity. The most common motivation to volunteer was to support a specific cause (55%), while helping out in the local community was the priority for 53% of volunteers.
To signpost people to where the multitude of opportunities lie, the Centre is highlighting the ways that people can make the most of volunteering week.
Longford Volunteer Centre, Coordinator, Terri Doherty said: “The key step is to go to www.volunteerlongford.ie where people can find a volunteering role near them to suit their interest or skill. Alternatively people can call into or phone Longford Volunteer Centre at 087 291 5367.”
Ms. Doherty also drew attention to using the online volunteer database ‘I-VOL’, which can also be found at www.volunteerongford.ie. I-VOL works both ways – people can search for volunteering opportunities in their local areas and organisations also can post that they are searching for volunteers.
In 2014 more than 12,400 volunteers engaged with I-VOL and local Volunteer Centres and clocked up an incredible 470,000 hours of volunteering.