Volunteer Ireland is the national volunteer development organisation and a support body for all local Volunteer Centres in Ireland. We work to support, promote and celebrate volunteering. We do this in many different ways, working with a variety of stakeholders.
We promote and celebrate volunteering in Ireland through campaigns such as National Volunteering Week and the Volunteer Ireland Awards. Along with Volunteer Centres across the country, we manage I-VOL (the national database of Irish volunteering opportunities).
We support national volunteer involving organisations by offering bespoke training, consultancy and an extensive range of online guides and resources on engaging volunteers.
We support large scale corporate volunteering projects and work with both companies and organisations to develop their corporate volunteering programmes.
We coordinate the Community Volunteers programme, delivered by Volunteer Centres locally, which gives people the opportunity to get involved in local events and festivals while also supporting more urgent needs that arise unexpectedly, like COVID-19 or the war in Ukraine.
There are 29 Volunteer Centre across the country who work with Volunteer Ireland. Volunteer Ireland develops and supports best practice in volunteering and Volunteer Centres, including the evaluation of Volunteer Centres according to a quality standard framework.
Our vision is an Ireland where everyone who wants to volunteer can volunteer to create a better society.
At Volunteer Ireland we hold four high level values and these are woven through our way of working and our commitment to volunteering.
We work to foster a positive and inclusive workplace in Volunteer Ireland, where the talents and contribution of each member of our team can be utilised. Our policies and practice are inclusive and accessible. We value each other as equals. Everyone is encouraged to perform well and enjoy their work.
We show consideration for and value one another. We acknowledge and respect the unique contribution of each team member, their ideas, work styles, backgrounds, experiences and talents. We strive to conduct our work in a manner respectful to all.
We conduct ourselves to the highest professional standards. We work cooperatively and engage openly and honestly with all our stakeholders. We operate a transparent organisation and commit to working in partnership with those who share our values.
We bring courage to our work and we are willing to pioneer new ways forward. We lead boldly and act decisively for good. We enjoy freedom to change and pursue new possibilities for our future and the future of volunteering.
Volunteer Ireland is a member of the Centre for European Volunteering (CEV), the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) and Points of Light.
We work with volunteer infrastructure organisations and volunteer centres across Europe to research and advance volunteering and these projects are part funded by the European Union Erasmus Plus Programme.
