Improving the wellbeing of volunteers
The workshop explored how volunteer coordinators can look after their own wellbeing whilst also caring for the wellbeing of volunteers.
The amazing job done by volunteers, especially during the pandemic has rightly been widely recognised – everything from telephone befriending to stewarding at the Covid Vaccine Centres has helped Britain emerge from Covid.
What people might not realise is the complex coordination it takes to get these volunteers recruited, trained, and then deployed to where they are needed. Furthermore, volunteering did not start with the pandemic. Instead, they have been providing important services to their local communities for many years and have continued to do so throughout the various lockdowns.
Volunteer services have had to adapt quickly to new ways of doing things. At Voluntary Norfolk, we have heard from many volunteers and coordinators that these changes and the new demands can cause stress and anxiety and that’s why we put on this session.
In this webinar on improving the wellbeing of volunteers, Home Start Norfolk and Come Singing (a choir for people with dementia and their carers) explained how they have kept their volunteers involved and included during the pandemic. We also heard from Dr Helen Fitzhugh from the UEA Business School about her research into supportive management and the wellbeing of frontline worker (including volunteer coordinators).
There was also an opportunity for volunteers and coordinators to share their experiences with other volunteer supporting organisations from across Norfolk.
You can see future events that Voluntary Norfolk and our partners are putting on here.
