Dublin City South Volunteer Centre

Frequently Asked Questions

kimboyle — 2010-04-27T09:59:29Z

What does the volunteer centre do?

The volunteer centre is here to help you find a suitable volunteer placement. We act as the link between people who want to volunteer and organisations that are looking to involve volunteers in the local area.

Do I have to register online?

Some people find it easier to register online and apply for roles directly online too, but this is not always the case. If you are not sure about how to register online you can contact the volunteer centre directly by phone or email and we will help you. Make sure when you register with us to tell us about yourself, especially your skills and interests. This will make it easier for us to help you find a suitable and worthwhile placement.

How many roles am I allowed to apply for?

We usually recommend that people apply for no more than three roles to get started with. If you are not sure how to apply online, what roles will suit your skills and interests or how to narrow down your options you are very welcome to make an appointment to come into the centre.

Can I be registered with more than one centre?

Dublin City South Volunteer Centre is part of a network of over 20 centres in the country overall and there are five centres in Dublin alone. Although we promote local volunteering you are free to volunteer in whichever area of Dublin you like and you can be be registered with multiple centres. However you can only apply online with the first centre you register with. If you want to apply for roles with other Centres you will need to contact the other centres directly by email or by phone.

How do I know if I am suitable for a role?

It is important that you take time to read the role description first before making the decision to apply. A common mistake is that people apply for roles after only reading the title and are not fully sure of what the role entails, what tasks, time and commitments are required. For example, a Puppy Walker role means adopting a puppy in your home for up to a year. If you have any questions about the role or need more details you can contact the volunteer centre for more information.

What happens when I apply for a role online through the volunteer centre?

The volunteer centre gets an automatic email notifying us that you are interested in the role. We will then get someone from the organisation to get in touch with you or we will give you the direct contact details for the organisation. How organisations get in touch with potential volunteers varies, it may be a phone call, an email or they might send you out an application pack in the post. If you do not hear from the organisation in a couple of days it is important that you let the volunteer centre know so we can follow up for you.

How long will it take for me to get started volunteering?

It varies between different roles. There are some once-off informal roles where you can get started straight away, but other roles take longer depending on the recruitment and screening process of the organisation. Bear in mind that roles involving volunteering with young people and vulnerable adults or where you are delivering services to these groups will take considerably longer to get started in. Many organisations need to interview, check references and Garda Vet their volunteers. The Garda Vetting process is taking over three months currently.

How much time will I have to commit to my voluntary work?

This depends on the roles that you are interested in. Some roles are short term and might only require you to commit to a couple of hours or one day and others might ask you to commit to a couple of weeks or months. Most organisations will only ask you to commit to a couple of hours a week on an on-going basis. If you intend to volunteer directly with vulnerable adults or young people the organisation will generally ask you to commit to a longer time period - perhaps six months to a year. This is to allow time either for a lengthy screening process or to give the volunteer and the service users time to get to know one another and build up a relationship.

Can I call into to the centre at any time?

You are very welcome to drop in to the Centre to find out more general information about volunteering. However, as we are a small and very busy volunteer centre we encourage people to make an appointment with us first because then we can take the time needed to sit down and go through all your options with you. We are open regular office hours, but we do make exceptions if you need to meet after work and we are available over lunch also. Please visit the contact us section of our website to see our contact details and our opening hours.

Upcoming Opportunities

Sacha Johnston — 2009-10-09T14:00:26Z

Coming soon...

Corporate/Team Volunteers

Sacha Johnston — 2009-10-05T07:30:39Z

Are you a corporate group or team of people interested in getting involved in your community, but don't know how or where to start? Some important things to consider are:

1. How much time do you have to volunteer?

Is it once-off, during a particular timeframe or on an ongoing basis?

2. How many people in your group/team would like to volunteer?

For many community organisations it is hard to accommodate more than 20 people at one time. If your group is bigger than this consider volunteering in smaller groups over a number of days or choose a variety of volunteer projects instead of just one.

3. Does your group have a particular area of interest?

e.g. the environment, working with the elderly, poverty alleviation etc?

4. Are you in a position to cover small costs associated with the volunteer project?

e.g. paint and materials, refreshments if taking a group of people on a social activity etc?

5. Is there someone on your team who can take the lead?

You will need one person to be responsible for organising the volunteering and liaising with the volunteer centre and community organisation.

Now, what can you do?

1. Once-off/Time Limited Commitment Volunteer Opportunities.

The Volunteer Centre has a list of once-off volunteer projects that could accommodate a group of volunteers. This list is updated as and when we get new projects and typically includes things like painting, environmental clean-ups and gardening projects. If you would like to find out what we currently have available please contact us by clicking here. You might also find it useful to check the Time Limited Commitment and Practical Work categories in the ‘Find an Opportunity' section of our website to see if there's anything suitable there.

2. Organise your own volunteering/fundraising event.

Community and voluntary organisations continually struggle with the issue of funding and would really benefit if you could raise funds for them; any amount would be greatly appreciated. A number of people within your team/company could take on this role by organising fun or creative events that would also bring your team closer together. A great example of this was Publicist QMP who organised a number of fundraisers for the Anchorage Project in Ringsend. You will also find a list of 101 FUNdraising ideas at the bottom of this page.

3. 'Adopt' a local charity.

Local community organisations have told us how they would greatly benefit from the support of a company or group over a period of time. Depending on the charity's needs there are numerous ways in which you could support them: offering a room for a training event; fundraising (helping with bag packs, quizzes, sponsored hill walks); offering skills/knowledge within your company/group; offering hands-on support (helping to do up client facilities). 'Adopting' a charity enables your team to become more aware and involved in your community through ongoing support of a local project. It also provides greater choice for people on your team to use their skills and interests in a more sustained way. The Volunteer Centre would be delighted to sit down with you and help you to choose a suitable charity.

4. Organise a social activity for a group of people in your community.

There are lots of people in the community that would absolutely love a visit from a group or to be taken out for the afternoon for coffee, or bowling or something similar. Do you know any daycare centres for the elderly, any children's clubs, bodies that work with people who have disabilities, reception centres that house asylum seekers? Your gift of time would be worth so much to someone who loves a friendly face. Can anyone on your team/organisation tell stories, play instruments or sing? These are all gifts that would be greatly appreciated by people who may not necessarily have a lot of visitors or the opportunity to go out on social events. The Volunteer Centre can assist you in finding a group in your community.

5. Ongoing volunteer opportunities.

If employees from your company/team would like to volunteer on an ongoing basis they can search our database for a complete range of opportunities or come in to the Volunteer Centre to discuss their options. Alternatively, we can arrange for someone to go out and give a talk on volunteering to a group of your employees/team members. If you have a staff intranet, feel free to ad a link to the national website (www.volunteer.ie) so employees can find out more about volunteering in their own communities too.

6. Knowledge transfer and/or offering skills to community organisations.

If you are part of a company you might consider offering your time and skills to help build the capacity of community and voluntary groups. Many community groups could benefit from better knowledge of or access to technical/professional services such as HR, accountancy, health and safety, board development, fundraising, ICT, strategic planning etc. Ways in which companies could greatly help are by offering advice, mentoring or a workshop in a particular field. The volunteering could be once-off, over an agreed number of days/weeks or on an ongoing basis.

7. Joining Business in the Community Ireland.

If your company would like to establish a corporate responsibility programme across all its operations BITCI would be happy to give you a presentation highlighting their work and how membership works. You will find more information about their services at the bottom of this page

Are you a corporate group or team of people interested in getting involved in your community, but don't know how or where to start?

Some important things to consider are:

1. How much time do you have to volunteer?

Is it once-off, during a particular timeframe or on an ongoing basis?

2. How many people in your group/team would like to volunteer?

3. Does your group have a particular area of interest?

e.g. the environment, working with the elderly, poverty alleviation etc?

4. Are you in a position to cover small costs associated with the volunteer project?

e.g. paint and materials, refreshments if taking a group of people on a social activity etc?

5. Is there someone on your team who can take the lead?

You will need one person to be responsible for organising the volunteering and liaising with the volunteer centre and community organisation.

Now, what can you do?

1. Once-off/Time Limited Commitment Volunteer Opportunities.

2. Organise your own volunteering/fundraising event.

3. 'Adopt' a local charity.

4. Organise a social activity for a group of people in your community.

5. Ongoing volunteer opportunities.

6. Knowledge transfer and/or offering skills to community organisations.

7. Joining Business in the Community Ireland.

Article for Volunteer section

Sacha Johnston — 2009-10-04T15:41:58Z

What is Volunteering?

"Volunteering is the commitment of time and energy, for the benefit of society, local communities, individuals outside the immediate family, the environment or other causes. Voluntary activities are undertaken of a person's own free will, without payment."

The White Paper Supporting Voluntary Activity (2000)

At Dublin City South Volunteer Centre you can find out about hundreds of ways to volunteer. You can also get information on lots of volunteer-involving organisations. You can call us, or drop by the Centre to talk to someone about volunteering and to get support and advice on what kind of volunteering might suit you. Our services are free of charge!

How we work

Sacha Johnston — 2009-09-03T15:50:29Z

We provide a free service to any individual or group looking to volunteer in the Dublin City South area.

Not sure what you'd like to volunteer to do? Registered already and want to see what is available ?

1.To get an idea of what kinds of things you could volunteer to do, search our database for opportunities. Search by category and have a look around to see what kind of opportunities are currently available. If you want more information about the organisation or opportunity just give us a call.

2. Once you have seen something you are interested in complete our registration form or if you are already registered with us just apply for the role. Please note when you apply for an opportunity your application comes to us in the Volunteer Centre, not the organisation.

3. Once we have recieved your application for an opportunity we will contact the organisation you have applied to and give them your contact details. The organisation will then get in touch with you to explain their own application process.

4. Please bear in mind that charities and local voluntary organisations have their own recruitment procedures for volunteers, and these vary depending on the organisation and the tasks involved. These recruitment procedures are outlined in the description of the volunteer opportunity.

Got any questions?

Look through our Frequently Asked Questions or give us a call on 01 473 7482.

Not sure about volunteering?

For more information what kinds of things you can do as a volunteer and what you can expect, read our Step by Step Guide to Volunteering.

Register to Volunteer

Sacha Johnston — 2009-09-03T15:50:26Z

You can register your interest to volunteer in one of three ways:

1. Online:

You can register online by filling in the form below. The form takes a few minutes to fill in and once we receive it we will be in touch with you to take you through the next steps.

2. In person:

Call us on 01 473 7482 to make an appointment. While we are open for drop-in queries it is best to make an appointment if you would like to register so that we can ensure we have a staff member who is available to meet with you.

3. By phone:

You can ring the office on 01 473 7482 and we can talk you through the registration form over the phone if you wish.

Online registration:

Please allow time for this page to load as it is accessing a remote database.

In order to help us find a volunteer opportunity that suits you, please fill in as much information as you can about yourself, your interests and availability. Don't be shy to tell us about your skills and qualities!

And please choose Dublin City South as your local Volunteer Centre.

Find an Opportunity

Sacha Johnston — 2009-09-03T15:50:20Z

Please allow time for this page to load as it is accessing a remote database. Please select Dublin City South as your local Volunteer Centre.

We ask you to apply for a maximum of 3 opportunities at a time. We will follow up with the organisations for you and each organisation will be in touch with you with information about your next steps.

When choosing opportunities make sure to check that you:

1. Have the skills/experience they require

2. Are available at the times required

3. Are able to travel to the location

And of course please contact us if you would like more information about any opportunity.