Volunteering Promotion

The Volunteer Centre at Involve works throughout the year to develop and refine volunteering opportunities and to recruit members of the public who choose between the wide range of volunteering opportunities registered with the Centre.

To help achieve this the Centre works to raise awareness of volunteering by running and attending a number of events and initiatives throughout the year. These can include, Freshers Fayres, Town Picnics, carnivals, local community events and one-off events some of which are organised by Involve specifically for this purpose.

Specific example of some of the recent higher profile events are listed below.

If you or your organisation would like to be involved in future events please contact Lesley Manson at the Volunteer Centre.

The most recent was entitled "Your Community Needs YOU", marking the 2010 Volunteers Week and 70th anniversary of the voluntary actions involved in the Dunkirk evacuation and other significant increases in volunteering activities during the "war years".

A large part of the substantial voluntary action carried out on "Home Front" was in the form of formal volunteering roles such as membership of the Home Guard, the Land Army and ARP.

This promotional event was held at the Tiverton Pannier market and included 17 additional stalls staffed by charity workers in authentic costumes promoting volunteering and the work of local and national charities working in the Mid Devon area.

Photos taken throughout the day can be viewed on the following link to the Flickr photo collection (222 photos - click on the slideshow icon in the top left of the page).

Press coverage of the event by local papers can be viewed on the following links:

• Mid Devon Gazette
• Mid Devon Star
• Express and Echo

This event and subsequent activities are kindly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, supported by Mid Devon District Council and sponsored by local companies including Maslands and Oxygen Design.

Other Volunteering Promotion events

The Mayors Big Shop 2009 was another partnership event between Involve and the TDCTA (Tiverton Shopmobility). The event was again well attended, bringing together new and existing volunteers in a seasonal volunteering initiative. It enabled rurally isolated and disabled shoppers to explore Tiverton's shopping centre with the support of a local volunteer.

Photos for this event are on Flickr Mayors Big Shop 2009 collection
(9 photos - click on the slideshow icon in the top left of the page) and media coverage of the event in the local press.

For the 2009 Volunteers Week we held a fancy dress street party to mark the 20th anniversary of Volunteers week. The event was opened by the Mayor of Tiverton and involved a range of local charity stalls, street entertainers and a birthday cake!

Photos for this event are on Flickr 2009 photo collection" (61 photos - click on the slideshow icon in the top left of the page) and media coverage of the event in the local press.

The Mayors Big Shop 2008 was a partnership event between Involve and the TDCTA (Tiverton Shopmobility). The event was well attended, bringing together volunteers both old and new to take part in a 'one-off' seasonal volunteering initiative. It enabled rurally isolated and disabled shoppers to explore Tiverton's shopping centre with the support of a local volunteer.

Photos for this event are available on Flickr Mayors Big Shop 2008 collection" (16 photos - click on the slideshow icon in the top left of the page) and media coverage of the event in the local press.

For the 2008 Volunteers Week we organised a firewalk in Phoenix Lane. Local charities and community leaders volunteered to brave the hot coals to raise awareness of the volunteering and huge variety of opportunities to volunteer in communities across Mid Devon!

Photos for this event are on Flickr 2008 photo collection" (49 photos - click on the slideshow icon in the top left of the page) and media coverage of the event in the local press.