The Volunteer Centre
Hartlepool Volunteer Centre
The Volunteer Centre (VC) carries out a brokerage service and holds a wide range of volunteering opportunities and community activity and offers potential volunteers support and advice matching their motivation to volunteer with appropriate volunteering opportunities, these opportunities can be found by visiting www.do-it.org.uk The target client group are those aged 25 years and over. In most cases voluntary work can mirror jobs in the paid workforce for example voluntary work can be undertaken in the following areas and: advice; counselling; art/culture; befriending; advocacy; mentoring; catering; clerical/administration/reception; committee work; conservation; forestry; gardening; animals; education and training; first aid; fundraising; publicity and media; music recording and broadcasting; practical skills; DIY; driving; social care; retail; training; finance and management. Volunteering can involve helping the following groups of people: children, young people, older people, minority ethnic groups, ex-offenders, lone parents, those experiencing substance misuse/abuse, those experiencing health related problems, individuals with mental health issues, physical disabilities, learning difficulties and learning disabilities. Currently the VC facilitates three projects.
WNF Volunteering into Employment and Training Project
The focus of the project is to target those living in WNF areas, and stimulate and encourage interest in volunteering and community activity, using volunteering as a springboard to basic training and the opportunity to access training to NVQ level 2 and above, eventually to gain paid employment. Volunteering into employment is targeted at specific groups of unemployed people who face barriers to paid employment.
WNF Career Coaching Project
Linked to the Volunteering into Employment project Career Coaching is a programme of support available to volunteers resident in WNF areas. Coaching is offered through a series of 1-2-1 confidential sessions, which develop motivation, direction and focus, these sessions can significantly improve the chances of success in securing paid employment or building a new career. The coaching process will remain realistic and support the client to consider training or employment opportunities that are suitable and relevant to their skills, experience, qualifications and qualities. They may be o unemployed and wanting to gain employmento unsure of the future holds since they have been made redundanto a person who wants to embark on a new careero frustrated with what to do next to help them return to worko confused about their future career optionso inexperienced in attending formal interviewso in a position where the type of work they have done in the past no longer exists or is in very short supplyUnlike traditional career advice programmes, career coaching works to the clients agenda to enable them to discover their ideal work.Coaching works - it's as simple as that!
Volunteering into Training and Employment Project. (Townwide)
This was run as a pilot project which commenced in October 2009 and aimed to demonstrate the demand for support into volunteering training and paid employment in all areas of Hartlepool. The project focused on offering a similar service to the VET project to those residents living outside the WNF area and sought to stimulate and encourage interest in volunteering and community activity, using volunteering as a springboard to basic training and the opportunity to access training to NVQ level 2 and above, eventually to gain paid employment.
This successful pilot ended in January 2010 and a funding bid has been secured for a Volunteer for All Officer who will be available three days a week. Please contact the Volunteer Centre for further information.
Meet the Volunteer Centre team
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Julie Laking | Sandy Taylor |
Leigh Karakosta
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Tony Leighton | Tracey Wilson | Helen Macklam |
Events / Meetings
Click here to view the current list of meetings / events that the Volunteer Centre are organising.
