The Volunteering project is part of our work on Early Intervention. Its aims, project updates and group members can be found below.
On this page you will find links to the volunteering charter, which aims to support the sharing of knowledge and tools, not just amongst members but to anyone who might need them. Much of the information provided is as a result of DAA projects, and therefore are as a result of partnership working across the DAA membership.
Aims
Enable disabled people to benefit from health and well-being, social and economic impacts of volunteering by working together to raise the visibility of and access to volunteering amongst disabled people.
Project Summary
We have developed the Volunteering Charter. It sets out core principles that we believe organisations should adopt when recruiting and working with volunteers that are disabled people. Organisations are invited to pledge support for the charter and take the necessary steps to ensure that its principles are applied in practice. Organisations that do not directly work with volunteers, but want to promote the principles of the charter, are also welcome to pledge.
The charter was launched in December 2015. As of September 2015, 94 organisations have pledged to the Charter. We have developed a certificate for pledgers to put on their website and we are inviting pledgers to provide us with their logos to include on the DAA website.
The focus of the project group now is to promote adoption of the charter to all organisations that are committed to promoting the principles of the charter, to increase opportunities for disabled people. We intend to support this work by encouraging shared learning in a number of ways, including the publication of case studies later in the year.
Latest updates
December 2015 – We have developed a publication to celebrate the Volunteer Charter one year anniversary, as well as its success – over 100 organisations have pledged to the Charter! We are pleased to publish it today on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, (3/12/15). The document includes case studies from three organisations who pledged to the charter, sharing their learning and experiences. You can find it below in both Word and PDF formats:
Volunteer Charter – One year on – Word Version
Volunteer Charter – One year on – PDF version
The Fed (DAA member) is also helping us celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilitites, by sharing a new video case study “Access All Areas” You can view the video here.
Also an example of how BlueAssist (DAA Member) is achieving it’s pledges to the Volunteer Charter can be found below in word and pdf versions. (Added end December 2015).
BlueAssist Pledge Example – Word Version
BlueAssist Pledge Example – PDF Version
September 2015 – Work is continuing by project members to promote the Volunteer Charter, and 22 new members joined during this month.
July 2015 – Requests to join the Volunteer Charter are still coming in following the hugely successful activities that took place during Volunteer Week. Many more organisations have pledged to join the DAA, bringing the total up to 74 organisations, which is nearly double the number of organisations who had pledged when those activities began!
June 2015 –
- 40 organisations have now pledged to the Volunteer Charter. The project group is continuing to promote the benefits of volunteering and the Charter, especially during Volunteer week (1-7 June). Social media activity can be followed during volunteer week on twitter at #DAAVolunteeringCharter .
- During volunteer week (1-7 June) DAA members are promoting the volunteering charter, with over 30 organisations attending just one event in Brighton, where many pledged to sign up to the DAA Volunteering charter.
- In August, the project group will begin an evaluation of how organisations who have signed up to the volunteering charter are doing with meeting their pledges.
February 2015 – 38 organisations have now pledged to the Charter (2 awaiting confirmation), but the project group continues to promote the benefits of volunteering and the Charter. Next steps include continuing to establish links with a number of major organisations and Cabinet Office.
January 2015 – The project continues to concentrate on getting pledges from the voluntary sector. Members of the DAA are currently exploring links with government departments with an interest in volunteering to further promote the Charter.
5th December 2014 – Volunteer Charter officially launched.
August 2014 – Work continues to develop a Volunteer Charter with a set of principles organisations and employers could be asked to endorse and construct a Knowledge Bank where case studies and examples of good practice can be deposited.
Members
Chair: Jemma Mindham – Volunteering Matters
Alison Boulton – Natspec
Anastasia Jenkins – Dimensions UK
Andrew Clark – Bucks Disability Service (BUDS)
Andrew Jeffreys – Arriva
Brenda Bloch – Jewish Care
Caroline Hawkins – Scope
Duncan Tree – Community Service Volunteers (CSV)
Gina King – Enrych
Hannah Tompkins – Sense
Jabeer Butt – REF
Jade Sempare – Individual
Jessica Noel – Share Scotland
Kath Parson – Older People’s Advocacy Alliance
Magda Allen – North West Leicestershire District Council
Mark Dale – Basildon and South Essex Disability Equality Forum
Mike Shaw – Hereward College
Naomi Marek – Sky Badger
Patricia Osborne – Brittle Bones Society
Rachel Wilkinson – Guide Dogs for The Blind Assoc.
Stephen Dickson – Disability Equality (North West) Ltd
Sue Bott – Disability Rights UK (DRUK)
Tina Jones – Listen not Label