Best Practice - Volunteering Bradford

By working together, sharing information, good practice and resources, Volunteering Bradford and v-involved Bradford provide a successful voluntary service across the county.

Working together

v-involved Bradford is run by Volunteering Bradford (VB), the local volunteer centre. As separate organisations, the staff sit on two different panels within local networks and the councils, but work closely to promote volunteering to both organisations and volunteers Bradford-wide.

VB has trained and supported v staff on good practice involving volunteers and organisations, which has included adapting their own organisation and opportunity registration forms for v to provide more information to help volunteers.

Up-to-date opportunities

V-Base is administered and maintained by 'roving' youth advisors from VB, so v-involved is confident the information provided for young people is relevant, extensive and up to date. The advisors also ensure that any v-opportunities are added and swiftly uploaded onto Do-it.

All young VB advisors are informed about the v-awards, and all organisations are supported in looking at how they can adapt existing or new opportunities so they can also take on young volunteers. Any one-off opportunities, such as supermarket collections, are immediately shared with the v-team and promoted to young people as part of the v-tasters.

With an enthusiastic team of young volunteers behind them, VB has injected new ideas into the programme. The YAT members have helped with recruitment, publicity and marketing, as well as attending meetings and joining staff on outings. They've even brought all the staff up to date on the latest fashion and music knowledge!

Communication is key

The v staff and VB are spread over four different sites across the district, with drop-in and information sessions held at many more. The success of these groups is largely down to how well the staff work together. Bi-monthly meetings are held involving both organisations; weekly planning sheets, email lists and organisation updates help to ensure communication between many different sites remains continuous.

Successful projects

v is committed to a number of projects, including the Community Media Project with Bradford Community Broadcasting (BCB). Young people involved in this project are also managing it, taking on roles in broadcasting, journalism and graphic art as well as recruiting other young volunteers.

The benefits to those taking part have been enormous. Young people who previously under-achieved academically have gained the confidence and skills to study media studies at college, and others have returned to school to work towards careers they thought were out of reach.

Through this work, VB has created volunteering opportunities at the radio station and has been invited to provide radio slots on volunteering. By working together, promoting each other and sharing information and resources, VB and v-involved Bradford provide a much-used service that helps young people to discover their potential.