Our understanding of volunteering is that:
- Volunteering is always a matter of choice and is done of the volunteers\’ own free will and without coercion.
- Volunteering is a legitimate way in which citizens can participate in the activities of their community.
- Volunteering benefits both the community and the volunteer and gives people a sense of ownership of their local community.
- Voluntary work is unpaid.
- Volunteering is a vehicle for individuals or groups to address human, environmental and social needs.
We believe that:
- Volunteers should be treated with respect and dignity.
- Everyone should have an equal opportunity to volunteer.
- Volunteering should respect the rights, dignity and culture of others.
- Everyone should have a positive experience of volunteering.
- Volunteering should be a “win – win” situation for both the volunteer and the organisation.
Therefore, we are committed to:
- Promoting the value of volunteering to all sectors of the local community.
- Offering a service that will be inclusive, accessible and high quality.
- Serving as best we can every volunteer who accesses our service and ensuring that volunteers are the focus of our work.
- Resourcing and supporting volunteers to make informed choices about volunteering, maintaining relevant, up-to-date information on volunteering opportunities.
- Developing new opportunities and projects involving volunteers in their local community
- Referring volunteers to a wide range of community and voluntary projects across all sectors of the community.
- Working with organisations so that they can achieve best practice principles in volunteer management.
- Ensuring that volunteers do not replace paid workers nor constitute a threat to the job security of paid workers.
- Promoting the principles of equity and participation within the volunteer sector.
- Raising the profile of volunteering in organisations, government and the community in general.
See also the Universal Declaration on Volunteering