Recognising Volunteer Friendly Organisations

Volunteer Now is delighted to introduce a new volunteer quality standard, Volunteer Friendly to the volunteer involving organisations in the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough area.

Volunteer Friendly was developed in Scotland and through support gained from the Department of Communities, Volunteer Now and the volunteer centres are delighted to bring it to Northern Ireland. Volunteer Friendly is part of the quality family for volunteer involving organisations and joins our already established Investing in Volunteers quality standard.

Volunteer Friendly is designed for small volunteer involving organisations, those with an income of less than £200,000, and focuses on the positive experience of the volunteer whilst enabling development and recognition.

Denise Hayward, CEO of Volunteer Now, said: “We are delighted to have received support from DfC to enable us to work with Volunteer Scotland and the Volunteer Centres in NI to offer Volunteer Friendly to our organisations. Accreditation is valuable recognition for the good practice that organisations embed in relation to volunteer management and it is essential in enabling their recruitment and retention.”

Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Alderman Stephen Ross, noted, “I am delighted to be part of this launch event in Antrim and Newtownabbey today. We know that the Borough has amazing volunteer involving organisations who work hard to ensure that their volunteers have a positive experience and we look forward to working with Volunteer Now to promote this accreditation.”

For more information on Volunteer Friendly check out our website: www.volunteernow.co.uk/organisations/involving-volunteers/quality-standards/volunteer-friendly or contact one of the Volunteer Now team stating your interest in the Award: info@volunteernow.co.uk