Stonepillow praises its volunteers for their dedication & hard work!
Stonepillow (previously known as St. Richard of Chichester Christian Care Association) is a local charity that offers shelter, information and support to empower homeless and vulnerable individuals to make positive changes in their lives. Due to the wide reach of its 7 unique projects the association has a mammoth team of over 130 volunteers!
Responsibility for these volunteers falls to PR & Fundraising Manager Tim Hurrell. When asked how important volunteers are to the work Stonepillow does, he said ”Volunteers are absolutely crucial to what we do. The charity was started by volunteers, has always received great support from local volunteers and I am certain will have even more volunteers in the future”.
From cooks to councillors and gardeners to fundraisers the range of volunteering opportunities offered by Stonepillow is certainly varied. “We have volunteers who given up an evening every other month whilst others volunteer 2 or 3 times a week. We are keen to recognise the hundreds of hours our dedicated volunteers give each month”.
“In these times of recession you would be forgiven for thinking that people might be battening down the hatches, building up their reserves and certainly not spending their time working for free. Despite the current economic downturn, donations are up and our volunteer numbers are growing every week”, said Mr Hurrell.
With an ever increasing number of charities offering different and unique volunteer opportunities, recruiting and retaining good volunteers can be a problem for some organisations. Stonepillow’s volunteer turnover is less that 10%, lower than that of most businesses. When asked how Stonepillow achieves this, Mr Hurrell said “Of course the retention of a volunteer is largely a representation of their commitment to your organisation, but we have found building a strong sense of team and camaraderie amongst our volunteers helps no end. We also meet with our volunteers in an open forum on a regular basis and ensure that all our volunteers are offered appropriate training when it becomes available. There’s no dream formula for finding and retaining great volunteers, but respect and recognition are a good place to start”.
If you are interesting in finding out how to become part of Stonepillow’s volunteer team and how you can benefit from volunteering, please visit: www.stonepillow.org.uk/support/ or call 01243 537934.
Stonepillow (previously known as St. Richard of Chichester Christian Care Association) is a local charity that offers shelter, information and support to empower homeless and vulnerable individuals to make positive changes in their lives. Due to the wide reach of its 7 unique projects the association has a mammoth team of over 130 volunteers!
Responsibility for these volunteers falls to PR & Fundraising Manager Tim Hurrell. When asked how important volunteers are to the work Stonepillow does, he said ”Volunteers are absolutely crucial to what we do. The charity was started by volunteers, has always received great support from local volunteers and I am certain will have even more volunteers in the future”.
From cooks to councillors and gardeners to fundraisers the range of volunteering opportunities offered by Stonepillow is certainly varied. “We have volunteers who given up an evening every other month whilst others volunteer 2 or 3 times a week. We are keen to recognise the hundreds of hours our dedicated volunteers give each month”.
“In these times of recession you would be forgiven for thinking that people might be battening down the hatches, building up their reserves and certainly not spending their time working for free. Despite the current economic downturn, donations are up and our volunteer numbers are growing every week”, said Mr Hurrell.
With an ever increasing number of charities offering different and unique volunteer opportunities, recruiting and retaining good volunteers can be a problem for some organisations. Stonepillow’s volunteer turnover is less that 10%, lower than that of most businesses. When asked how Stonepillow achieves this, Mr Hurrell said “Of course the retention of a volunteer is largely a representation of their commitment to your organisation, but we have found building a strong sense of team and camaraderie amongst our volunteers helps no end. We also meet with our volunteers in an open forum on a regular basis and ensure that all our volunteers are offered appropriate training when it becomes available. There’s no dream formula for finding and retaining great volunteers, but respect and recognition are a good place to start”.
If you are interesting in finding out how to become part of Stonepillow’s volunteer team and how you can benefit from volunteering, please visit: www.stonepillow.org.uk/support/ or call 01243 537934.
