Best Practice - Leeds

Volunteering in Leeds

The two volunteering organisations in Leeds – the Volunteer Centre (Voluntary Action Leeds) and vinvolved – work together in a number of ways:

Firstly, both teams make sure everyone talks to the right people. Young people approaching the Volunteer Centre about volunteering opportunities are referred to the vinvolved team.  Likewise, the vinvolved team refers anyone outside our age range (16 to 25-year-olds) to the Volunteer Centre.

The Volunteer Centre has recently opened a new City Centre Volunteer Centre.  We are currently arranging for a vinvolved Volunteer Advisor to provide a drop-in session for young people once a fortnight. For those unable to make these sessions, we're looking at providing a dedicated computer at the centre that will list the vinvolved team opportunities available. The Volunteer Centre staff will be able to help young people navigate this system.

In terms of staffing, vinvolved team staff members are part of the Volunteer Managers Network in Leeds, which is run by the Volunteer Centre. 

The team is managed by the Youth Contracts Manager at Learning Partnerships, who is the Theme Lead for Children and Young People's Month. This forms part of 2010 Leeds Year of Volunteering, which is run by the Volunteer Centre and Leeds City Council.