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Volunteering City Of Ripon

Volunteering City Of Ripon

Volunteering City Of Ripon was a 18 month Heritage Lottery funded partnership project which supported volunteer involving organisations in Ripon to elevate their volunteer offer, and to find innovative, inclusive ways to welcome potential new volunteers from within our community in 2022/23. We're delighted that we've secured funding to continue to develop The Power of 10 area of this work in 2024.

About the project and what we did   

HADCA (Harrogate & District Community Action) worked with Skell Valley Project partners The National Trust and Nidderdale AONB with the aim of giving everyone a really positive volunteering experience and to encourage a really diverse range of people to give their time and skills.

We brought local voluntary organisations together to share their big ideas about volunteer recruitment and their best practice.

Project Principles
  • A commitment to collaboration
  • More people contributing time and skills for more good causes locally
  • Empowering people to get involved easily
  • A fulfilling volunteering experience for everyone 
  • Stepping up and sharing support for the people who organise and manage volunteers
     
Our Partners
Our team

Our Steering Group 

We were pleased to have such expertise and knowledge within our steering group - a valuable, collective voice for our charitable organisations in Ripon and help guide our thinking and project development.

Our 3 key areas for development : 
1. Our Training and Awareness Commitment 
  • To provide training and activities to prepare, motivate and empower our young people to seek out volunteering opportunities.
  • For our young people to understand the benefits of volunteering for themselves and for their community.
  • To support charities and organisations to be ready to recruit 14-18 year olds  with correct policies & procedures in place and meaningful opportunities to offer.
     

As part of the training and awareness commitment, we were pleased to launch our new educational resources and “The Power of 10” challenge for schools and children’s clubs. 

Following the ‘Are you ready to recruit young volunteers’ workshop in November 2022, we collaborated with Ripon Library and Ripon YMCA, to host a Young Peoples Community Helper Recruitment Fair during February half term. 13 local community organisations shared fun, flexible and creative opportunities for young people to get involved.  Together we then ran a Community Helper Workshop in March to support young people to prepare for volunteering. 

Working with Ripon YMCA  we also provided a Free Safeguarding Young People Essentials Workshop to provide local organisations with the basic skills and knowledge that they need to help keep children and young people safe. 

2. Ripon Hub  

To explore the option of a potential virtual or physical hub, where young people can find opportunities and organisations can share opportunities, with a more strategic approach for the community.

3. Incentives  

Explore breaking down the economic and social barriers to volunteering for young people, so all members of the local and wider community can confidently give time at no expense to themselves.
 

We were proud to work with 
 
Getting involved

Charities

Individuals 

  • Search for volunteering opportunities here
  • Find out more about giving time as a young person here

Schools and children’s clubs 

Businesses