Community Links recognised as an Investor in Volunteers

We are proud to announce that we have been awarded the Investing in Volunteers (IiV) quality standard which recognises Community Links’ good practise in volunteer management.

Investing in Volunteers is the UK quality standard for all organisations involving volunteers. Its aim is to improve the quality of the volunteering experience for all volunteers and for organisations to acknowledge the enormous contribution made by volunteers.

Investing in Volunteers is managed by the UK Volunteering Forum and delivered by NCVO, Volunteer Scotland, Volunteer Now in Northern Ireland and Wales Council for Voluntary Action.

Community Links was assessed against a range of best practice standards and proved to excel in all aspects of working with its volunteers.

Ruth Kettle, Chief Executive of Community Links commented,

“We are over the moon to have been awarded this quality standard, we really value our volunteers and they are such an important part of our organisation. Our volunteer coordinators and all our volunteers bring so much to Community Links and make a real difference to peoples lives. The award really recognises this contribution.”

Investing in Volunteers is unique in that it is the only standard that focuses on volunteers. It is based on four areas of volunteer management : volunteer involvement, recruiting volunteers, selecting and matching volunteers and supporting and retaining volunteers.

There are four services at Community Links which offer volunteer placements, two of which are Leeds based services and two based in Kirklees. Placements are varied and include one to one support, peer mentoring and co-facilitating group work.

Volunteers are well supported throughout their experience; they attend an induction and can access Community Links’ training.

Former service users are often keen to volunteer to give something back and develop skills. One current volunteer commented:

“It’s great that ex-service users are encouraged to volunteer, their ‘lived experience’ is a big benefit to the organisation.”

To find out more about volunteering with Community Links visit our volunteering page

To find out about Investors in Volunteers visit www.investinginvolunteers.org.uk