Involved Volunteering Handbook

Get inVOLved with volunteering at Staffs!

Welcome to inVOLved

Staffordshire University Students’ Union’s

Volunteer Scheme

InVOLved is a joint partnership between the Students’ Union and Staffordshire University aimed at helping students and staff interested in volunteering to find volunteering opportunities in the local community.

Volunteering whilst at university can be one of the most rewarding experiences you can have.

It provides valuable insight into possible career paths, increases employability and gives you the opportunity to meet new people and make valuable contacts. You will also get a recognised certification of all the hours you complete, which is great to add to your CV. There are numerous volunteering opportunities available such as conservation, fundraising, sports coaching, mentoring, working with the elderly and much more. We have volunteering opportunities both on and off campus and also encourage students to develop their own community projects with help and support from InVOLved.

Whether it’s your first experience of volunteering, or something you’ve been doing for a while, InVOLved is here to support and enable you in every aspect of your experience, which we hope you will find interesting, useful and fun.

The Student Activities Team Staffordshire University Students’ Union

What to Expect Once you have registered with involved you will be invited to a volunteer induction.

Inductions are held on the Stoke and Stafford campus on Thursdays at 1pm. During your induction, we will talk about what you hope to gain from the scheme, what type of volunteering you are interested in and you will have the chance to ask us any questions about the scheme.

When you register you will be asked to choose up to 3 categories, which will form your areas of interest. This allows us to send you emails tailored to your individual interests throughout the year as opportunities come in, so it is vital that you provide us with a working email address.

The 2011/12 volunteer year runs from 6 May 2011 until 6 May 2012. You will be asked to log your hours at the end of the year and these should be signed off by the person/organisation you have volunteered with.

1-25 hours

26-50 hours

51-99 hours

When these have been submitted you will gain certification which runs in the following categories: 1-25 hours 26-50 hours 51-99 hours 100+ GOLD AWARD We may also put forward volunteers that go above and beyond for a Volunteering England Gold Award, which is a national level accreditation.

100+ hours

Your Rights as an inVOLved Volunteer • To be reimbursed for all out of pocket expenses upon production of receipts

• To have the choice to leave or change the volunteer opportunity at any time

• To be treated equally in accordance with the Students’ Union’s equal opportunities policy

• To have your views represented at local, regional and national levels

• To be valued and respected

• To receive appropriate quality training in order to learn and develop new skills

• To feel safe and secure during your volunteering experience

• To receive recognition and appreciation for your volunteering activities

• To have a forum for expressing any suggestions or complaints about your volunteering experiences

• To receive regular support and guidance from InVOLved staff • To receive up-to-date information about InVOLved activities

• To have access to volunteer opportunity information • To have personal information about you handled and stored in an appropriate and sensitive way

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If you have any questions please refer to our Volunteer Policy.

VolunteerResponsibilities • To abide by InVOLved policies and procedures • To act in a responsible manner

• To make constructive criticism and suggestions about how we can improve our service

• To be reliable, punctual and committed

• To never put yourself, another volunteer or client at risk

• To complete the InVOLved induction or placement specific induction

• To report all potential or actual accidents or risks

• To inform InVOLved if you have a complaint about your volunteering

• To represent InVOLved and the University in a positive way

• To inform InVOLved if you want to leave a project

• To respect confidentiality and understand professional boundaries

• To keep InVOLved up-to-date with what and how you are doing

• To support other volunteers and staff where appropriate

Criminal Records Bureau Some organisations will require a CRB check before you can start your volunteering experience. InVOLved will provide this free-of-charge, but only to students registered with the scheme and who require for it a volunteering position.

From September, we will be holding weekly CRB workshops but a time and date for you to attend must be arranged beforehand with the InVOLved team.

You will be expected to bring all the information and identification required to complete your CRB form to these sessions and then we can help you to make sure your CRB is filled in correctly and is processed quickly. The information regarding forms of identification you need to complete the CRB form will be provided when you book onto a workshop. Please make sure you have the original copies of all documents as photocopies will not be accepted.

Working with Vulnerable Clients For the purposes of this document, ‘vulnerable clients’ includes: • • • •

Children / young adults under 18 People over 65 People who misuse alcohol or drugs People with learning or physical disability or chronic illness

If you’re working alongside vulnerable clients we would ask you to consider the following guidelines where possible and appropriate: • Avoid lone working or one to one situations • Do not pass on any personal contact details to clients • Do not request any personal contact details from clients • Remember to act as an appropriate role model at all times

Grievance & Disciplinary Procedures InVOLved promotes an environment where volunteers feel comfortable, have positive relationships with other volunteers and feel their rights and responsibilities are respected.

InVOLved encourages all volunteers to seek assistance with any situations or issues with which they are not comfortable. If you wish to raise a grievance, you should follow the standard procedures set out in the Students’ Union’s Complaints Procedure.

Health & Safety InVOLved, the Students’ Union and Staffordshire University has a responsibility to maintain a duty of care to avoid exposing its volunteers to risks to their health and safety. If you volunteer for an external organisation, they will have the same duty of care to you.

All volunteers should endeavour to ensure their own personal safety by: • Conducting yourself in a safe and appropriate manner • Familiarising yourself with the organisation’s health and safety and emergency procedures, and the location of first aid in case of accidents.

• Making good use of safety equipment and protective clothing if it is appropriate • Reporting hazardous situations, equipment or incidents to the relevant person at the organisation

Staffordshire University Volunteer Module The Faculty of Arts, Media and Design has modules at Levels 4 and 5 that provide accreditation (15 credits) for voluntary activity.

Students studying most undergraduate awards at Staffordshire University can enrol on these modules as general options. They also count as employability modules for those with an employability requirement.

Volunteering: Action and Experience I AMD25413-4 Volunteering: Action and Experience II AMD25412-5 The module is an independent-study module designed for those who are interested in undertaking at least 40 hours of voluntary activity in a semester. To complete the module you will be required to attend a weekly workshop, undertake voluntary activity and complete an assessment that asks you to reflect on the skills gained during the volunteering process.

Volunteering: Action and Experience I AMD25413-4

Volunteering: Action and Experience II AMD25412-5

Volunteer

Expenses When volunteering with InVOLved you are able to claim back any expenses that are necessary for you to carry out your volunteering opportunity. If you are volunteering externally your volunteering placement will sometimes pay your expenses themselves but InVOLved also cover reasonable costs.

Reasonable expenses undertaken during the course of volunteering include the following:

TRAVEL

• Additional necessary travel • Care of dependants during the course of volunteering • Postage and telephone costs • Protective clothing or other essential equipment

PHONE

• Travel to and from the place of volunteering (this does not include by taxi unless agreed with inVOLved prior to the journey) Volunteer expenses will only be reimbursed on receipt of a completed Expenses Claim Form and appropriate receipts/records. Only the exact amount that the volunteer has paid will be reimbursed. Petrol is also reimbursed at a rate of £0.20 per mile. The claim forms can be found at www.staffsunion.com/involved

ESSENTIALS

VIP

Do You want to be a VIP?

InVOLved are offering individuals or groups of students the opportunity to create Volunteer Inspired Projects (VIP).

If you have ever wanted to make a difference to the community, the University or the student body, now is the chance to do it!

With the submission of a successful bid you could win up to £500 to fund a community project. Successful applicants are eligible for recognition such as: • The Christine King Award for Community Engagement • Volunteer of the Year • Volunteering England Gold Award • and many other fantastic opportunities

Before you apply, think carefully about your application and tell us why you want to create a VIP, who it will benefit and what you would do. We ask that only sensible bids are submitted and that you only ask for funding that you need.

If you have a great idea for a project, and you think it will benefit others, let us know.

We are open to anything and everything so get thinking and submit your application now!

Applications can be found at: www.staffsunion.com/involved

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Checklist Ok, so you’ve decided you want to get InVOLved with volunteering, now all you need is to follow our check list and you’re ready!

Have you registered?

Have you chosen up to 3 areas of interest?

Have you had an induction?

If necessary have you completed a CRB form?

Do you know how to claim back expenses?

Do you know how to log your hours?

Contact us To find out more about InVOLVed, you can contact the Student Activities Team on 01782 294629, volunteer@staffs.ac.uk or www.staffsunion.com Alternatively, drop into the Students’ Union at Stoke or Stafford and have a chat to a member of the Student Activities Team who will be happy to give you more information.

Striving for the best experience for students

Call: 01782 294629 Email: volunteer@staffs.ac.uk Web: www.staffsunion.com/involved Facebook: www.facebook.com/involved.staffs