Volunteer Ireland has arrived!

Volunteer Centres Ireland and Volunteering Ireland have now merged to create Volunteer Ireland, a single national volunteering organisation for Ireland. The services and supports for volunteering previously offered by two organisations will now be delivered by one: from the Ireland InVOLved Awards to the National Day of Volunteering.

The creation of Volunteer Ireland is great news for volunteering in Ireland. Combining the skills, strengths and talents of VCI and VI into a single national volunteering organisation will mean we can build on the considerable achievements of our two organisations to date and increase the services and supports for volunteering in Ireland. As a bigger, better and unified organisation for volunteering, Volunteer Ireland will be far better placed to respond to the needs of volunteering in Ireland. 2011 is European Year of Volunteering and Volunteer Ireland will be a fantastic legacy of it for Ireland.

The focus of Volunteer Ireland will be to create an enabling environment for volunteering, to develop an ethos of volunteerism across all sectors of society and to be an independent and legitimate voice for volunteering. Working with our local Volunteer Centres, volunteer-involving organisations and volunteers, Volunteer Ireland will be a powerful advocate for volunteering in Ireland.

As of from last week, all staff and volunteers in Volunteer Centres Ireland and Volunteering Ireland transferred to Volunteer Ireland and we are all looking forward to working together to create a single, great volunteering organisation for Ireland. For the moment, of course, it’s ‘business as usual’. However, we look forward to developing our new organisation over the coming months and to sharing our progress with you.
 

Volunteer Ireland is the national Volunteer Centre. We are a representative body, support agency and membership organisation for a growing number of local Volunteer Centres in Ireland, currently 23. Local Volunteer Centres put people who want to volunteer in touch with community and voluntary or nonprofit organisations seeking volunteers, providing a host of supports to both volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations.

Volunteer Ireland was established to increase the extent, range and quality of volunteering in Ireland and we believe this is best achieved through the development and support of a national volunteering infrastructure with a network of local Volunteer Centres at its heart.

 

Volunteer Ireland’s vision is for an Irish society in which everyone who wants to has access to volunteering opportunities that are fulfilling and engaging, contribute to the development of community and the betterment of society, and where volunteers are respected for the time and effort they contribute.

 

Volunteer Ireland’s mission is to support the development of a national volunteering infrastructure with a network of local Volunteer Centres at its heart.