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PRESS RELEASE: Friday 8th January 2010: Volunteers Check-in on Older People as Cold Spell set to Continue
VOLUNTEER CENTRES IRELAND has again urged members of the public to reach out to their older neighbours during the cold spell to make sure that they are OK.
MET Éireann has issued additional warnings today (6 JANUARY) saying that sub-zero temperatures are sent to continue into next week.
Many older people have become trapped in their own homes as the icy conditions and snow are preventing them from venturing outside or from picking up much needed groceries.
Dr. Yvonne McKenna, CEO of Volunteer Centres Ireland said: ‘You don’t have to be affiliated with a voluntary organisation to help older people at Christmas. Just ring your neighbours doorbell to check that they are mobile - perhaps offer to fetch their groceries.’
Meanwhile Ireland’s network of volunteer centres has seen a surge of interest in volunteering opportunities as a result of the cold snap.
“Mush like the floods in 2009, this spell of bad weather is bringing out the best in local communities around Ireland,” said Dr McKenna.
Anyone interested in some festive volunteering should contact their local volunteer centre or visit www.volunteer.ie
PRESS RELEASE: Wednesday 6th January 2010:More Irish Women Volunteering than their Male Counterparts!
New figures released today give insight into the make up of Irish volunteers and it seems women make up 70% of those registering to volunteer via their local Volunteer Centre. The figures released by Volunteer Centres Ireland (VCI) show that in Ireland more and more people are contacting their local volunteer centre to get involved with their local communities.
In 2009, Volunteer Centres saw a more than 100% increase in the numbers registering to volunteer. More than 13,000 people nationwide, registered to volunteer.
The number one reason why people registered to volunteer in 2009 was to ’Give Something Back’, while ’Free Time’ and ’Gain and Improve skills’ followed shortly behind. Undoubtedly the recession has influenced people’s decision to volunteer as for the first time ’Recently Made Reduntant’ also made the top 10.
61% of people registering to volunteer had never volunteered before.
’Youth/ Children’, ’Education and Literacy’ as well as ’Older People’ are the top three most popular categories of volunteer opportunities although many are not sure what they want to do - just that they want to do something. Office Work has become increasingly popular though as more and more people seek professional work experience.
Volunteers recruited through volunteer centres are predominately young with almost 70% of volunteers under 35 and more than one-third aged 16-25. Further-more one in three volunteers are non Irish.
DR Yvonne McKenna CEO of Volunteers Centres Ireland put this down to the strong web presence of VCI and the fact that volunteer centres attract people either new to communities or who haven’t volunteered before. ’The majority of volunteers registering to volunteer do so through the website www.volunteer.ie. The volunteer centres share a database that allows volunteers to register and apply directly for opportunities online. Organisations can also register and update their opportunities online.’
PRESS RELEASE: Wednesday 28th January : Volunteer Centres Ireland offer some good news to the Joint Oireachtas Committee
Representatives from Volunteer Centres Ireland (VCI) will meet with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs later today to discuss the growth and progress of volunteering infrastructure in Ireland since the committee launched its report “Volunteers and Volunteering in Ireland” in January 2005
The 2005 report recommended the expansion of ‘volunteering infrastructure’ and Chairperson Tricia Nolan and CEO Yvonne McKenna will today highlight how Volunteer Centres Ireland has grown from a group of eight centres to a strong network of twenty volunteer centres located across the nation with a database of nearly 17,000 volunteers.
Yvonne McKenna, said of the meeting, “ We are delighted to have the opportunity to update the Joint Oireachtas Committee and impress upon them the value of volunteering, especially in today’s economic climate. Our Volunteer Centres have seen a 65% increase in the numbers of volunteers registering in January of this year compared to last year. With more and more people citing unemployment as a motivation to volunteer, that number is likely to increase even further.
Volunteer Centres Ireland hope to drive home the positive image of volunteering in Ireland that they are capturing and the value of volunteering as a worthwhile endeavor. Volunteering, especially in these times, gives people an opportunity to make a difference, pull together, improve and learn new skills and keep active if they are temporarily unemployed.
In 2008 more than 7,500 individuals registered to volunteer and over 3000 of them were placed in some of the 2,400 organisations registered with the centres. Of those 7,500 volunteer 33% were not Irish nationals and 56% of volunteers had never volunteered before. Young people were very actively engaged with 69% of them under 35 and 50% of the aged between 16 and 25. 200,136 hours of volunteering were generated (equivalent to 114 full-time employees).
PRESS RELEASE: Friday 5th September : Volunteers Centres Ireland with the help of European MEP Marian Harkin attempted to inspire Dublin commuters to volunteer!
Volunteers Centres Ireland with the help of European MEP Marian Harkin attempted to inspire Dublin commuters this week when they took to Connolly and Heuston Stations to sign up volunteers for the forthcoming national day of volunteering, Give It A Swirl Day, which is happening on Friday, September 26th.
Give It A Swirl Day is an nationwide initiative managed by Volunteer Centres Ireland, sponsored and supported by Wyeth which will bring together a wide range of individual charity and community projects under one umbrella.
The recruitment campaign was one of several on street drives to inform the public of the national volunteer initiative which aims to treble the number of volunteers, treble the time committed to volunteering, and double the number of projects that people can help with this year.
Organisations already signed up to participate in the day’s events include principal sponsor Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, the Irish Cancer Society, The Hope Foundation, Irish Blood Transfusion Service, and many local community and Tidy Town organisations from around the country.
The European MEP Marian Harkin, who recently annouced the astounding success of the Written Declaration to the Commission to make 2011 the European Year of Volunteering was eager to share the volunteering message and lend her had to make Give It A Swirl Day a great success.
Speaking at the drive she added, "This is an opportunity for hands on volunteering. Many people want to volunteer but they need to be given an opportunity and this is the perfect chance. ’Give it a Swirl’ - says it all. In other words - give it a go, try it out! I am convinced that many of those who ’Give it a Swirl’ will continue to volunteer afterwards.”
“We are on a count down at this stage with two weeks to go until Give It A Swirl Day. All our centres are on the ground recruiting volunteers and promoting the volunteer opportunities”, said Yvonne McKenna, CEO Volunteer Centres Ireland.
There are in total 130 projects seeking just 3,300 volunteers across our 17 centres nationwide at this point in time and we are still taking in projects every day. However we do need more people willing to give one hour or one day for one cause. I would appeal to the Irish public to get online or go to your local volunteer centre, find a project that appeals to you and register to Give It A Swirl on Friday 26th September”, she added.
PRESS RELEASE: Tuesday 2nd September Miriam O’Callaghan helps launch the 2nd Annual Day of Volunteering, Give it a Swirl Day
The initiative, managed by Volunteer Centres Ireland, will bring together a wide range of individual charity and community projects under one umbrella on Friday September 26th. Its aim is to encourage businesses and individuals to adopt a ‘volunteer spirit’.
Organisations already signed up to participate in the day’s events include principal sponsor Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, the Irish Cancer Society, The Hope Foundation, Irish Blood Transfusion Service, and many local community and Tidy Town organisations from around the country.
Miriam O’Callaghan who is the patron of Give It A Swirl Day for the first time this year was signing up shoppers and lunch time passers-by to get involved in hands on volunteering opportunities across the country along with the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Eibhlin Byrne, John Curran T.D. Minister of State with responsibility for Community Affairs, Emmet Browne of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Mickey Joe Harte.
“Volunteering is such a big part of who we are as Irish Citizens, it is a pleasure to be involved with the national volunteer day,” she said. “I would ask people to get involved at any level be it helping out at the local crèche or rolling up your sleeves in a community clean up. Effort is all that is needed to make Give It A Swirl Day a real success for the entire country”.
“Give It A Swirl Day was such a great success last year, people really got what it was about, just giving one hour or one day to something that matters to them,” said Yvonne McKenna of Volunteer Centres Ireland.
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