Although this session was titled ‘Adapting your volunteering service post Covid’ it was soon established that unfortunately we are nowhere near to a post Covid situation. With every forward movement there is a need to step back again making it very difficult to plan ahead.

New volunteering roles

Despite the challenges and uncertainty the voluntary sector and NHS volunteer teams have been busy coming up with some innovative and impactful new volunteer roles that will be sustainable beyond Covid.

An example of this is a new volunteer role supporting nurses and midwives coming from overseas and helping them to settle into the local community. A guest from the voluntary sector talked about resettlement in the community and how local authorities could be a great resource for this new initiative.

New volunteering roles using technology

Technology has dramatically changed how we live and there has been an increase in use of digital approaches for connecting people, including online volunteer interviews and WhatsApp groups to keep in touch.

The absence of face to face activities has given some volunteers the opportunity to run online groups, providing a welcome boost for people’s health and wellbeing:

• Yoga

• Digital champions

• Befriending

• Movie night hosts

• Music support

• IT and art activities

• Keep in Touch (KIT) volunteers

Young volunteers

There has been a notable change in the demographic of volunteers with many older volunteers not wishing to return or not permitted to return to their previous roles. This has led to an influx of younger people volunteering. As well as creating potential employment opportunities this has also had a positive impact on the loneliness and isolation that many young people have experienced during the lockdowns and school / college closures.

A great example of this is the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust who have been very successful in recruiting young volunteers. As a direct result of this programme 22 young volunteers have gained employment within the Trust.

Helpforce is in the process of building a Role Description Library within our Resources section. If you have any role descriptions that you would be happy to add to this collection and share with colleagues please contact us at: network@helpforce.community