Cheshire Ireland Volunteering Strategy 2013-2018

Section 1 - Overview

a)Introduction

Historically Cheshire Ireland began its journey in 1962 with the setting up of Ardeen Cheshire Home as a volunteer-run organisation. The Cheshire Foundation of Ireland (trading as Cheshire Ireland) was founded in 1963. Further Cheshire Homes were set up across Ireland, which were also run by local committees.

In 1997 legal advice confirmed that all assets and liabilities of the organisation were the responsibility of the Board of Trustees and that local committees had no management responsibilities. The role and work of local committees started to diminish and the organisation’s Central Office was developed with national roles to lead on the establishment of a new corporate identity for the organisation; to work with the Department of Health to achieve adequate core funding for all the Cheshire homes across the country and to standardise Cheshire processes and procedures across finance, HR, nursing, care and ancillary services.As a result of these changes, the number of volunteers declined in the organisation.

Over the following decade, volunteers were once again recruited locally in small numbers.Generally they were included in visiting and assisting service users and also in fundraising activities. Overall this involvement was not uniform and volunteers tended to be managed on an ad hoc basis at local level. Service Users spoke positively about the contribution of volunteers to their daily lives.

From2008 onwards, Cheshire Ireland recognised the need for formalising its position around volunteering. The mix of existing volunteers within the organisation then included those on college internships, residential European Voluntary Service (EVS) volunteers, residential Non-EVS European volunteers, visiting volunteers and very limited numbers of corporate volunteering projects. There was no formal policy or procedures in place. Volunteers were taken into the organisation but often not actively managed in line with best practice. When left to their own devices volunteers tended to leave after a few weeks or months. Some volunteers were found to be carrying out the same tasks as care support workers rather than adding an additional value to the lives of the men and women living in Cheshire Homes.

In 2012, the need for volunteers wasclearly evident. Withfewer staff available to spend time on activities other than personal care, volunteers are an essential element for service users;to assist them to live fuller, more meaningful lives. With the move towards decongregation,the needhas become even more apparent. Volunteers and support circles are a vital component, to provide practical assistance for people with disabilities living in local communities. Volunteers can be involved at all stages of theservice users’ transitionto homes of their own. Volunteers can assist service users to try new things, to locate and adapt new homes, to become involved in new groups and relationships and to become more integrated into community life. They can also support service users to become active citizens and to take up valued roles within community groups, clubs and organisations. Volunteers can provide companionshipand, over time, friendships may develop naturally. Volunteers will provide an enriching diversity and add an additional dimension to the lives of people with disabilities. During Cheshire’s evolution away from congregated settings, volunteers can be a key resource for the service users remaining in residential settings as they slowly wind down.

b)Current Environment and the Key Drivers

This Strategy has emerged in response to these identified volunteering requirements within the organisation. Some key drivers are:

  • The need for a formalised, coordinated national volunteering framework within Cheshire Ireland
  • The move from congregated settings into the community
  • The need to move towards a balance of paid and unpaid (or more naturally occurring) supports in people’s lives
  • Evidence which shows that the quality of life for people in residential settings is lacking.

Also vital is:

  • The need to support Cheshire staff to properly recruit, integrate and support volunteers
  • The need to create and delivervolunteer training toensure that volunteers carry out their roles safely and effectively
  • The need to ensure that volunteers are managed in accordance with recognised best practices
  • The need to assess and evaluate volunteering across the organisation to ensure that it meets the organisation’s need for volunteerswho add real value to the quality of lives of people with disabilities.

c)Purpose of the Volunteering Strategy

This Volunteering Strategy is closely aligned to Cheshire Ireland’s emerging Strategy(2014-2018) which states that ‘Cheshire Ireland will provide quality, individualised services that enable people to live a good life’.Its purpose is to professionalise and coordinate volunteering activities, to link these activities with the needs and vision of the organisation, and to establish comprehensive assessment of both activities and participants to ensure worthwhile expenditure of time resources, and enhancement of the overall quality of services provided by the organisation to service users.

d)Audience

This Volunteering Strategy aims to effectively embed a culture of partnership and cooperation within Cheshire Ireland and in the community. Its target audience is comprised of those who work to achieve the goals of the organisation (including the Board, Management & Staff), Service Users, along with existing and new volunteers.

e)Commitment to Volunteering

As outlined in the organisational strategy, Cheshire Ireland is committed to the provision of ‘cost-effective, quality services’, and recognises that on-going support from volunteers provides an extra dimension that enhances the lives of service users.

To further this goal, the Management Team at Cheshire Ireland will ensure that staff understand the value of volunteersand to ensure that the volunteers are properly integrated and appreciated within Cheshire’s services.

Underlying Principles

This strategy is based on the following key principles:

  • Volunteering is a two-way relationship –one that should benefit both the volunteer and the service users
  • Volunteers should be making a real difference to people’s lives
  • Volunteers will be identified, recruited and managed in line withcurrent best practice as recommended by Volunteer Ireland (Ireland’s National Volunteer Development Agency).
  • Volunteers will only be placed in services where there is an identified need and where they can be managed effectively.
  • Volunteers will be involved in specific roles. They will not be doing the same work as care support staff although they may at times carry out some of the duties, i.e. personal grooming, assisting at mealtimes etc.
  • Volunteers will be trained prior to being involved in services to ensure that they can carry out any tasks safely. They will have access to appropriate continuous, on-the-job training and development.
  • A formal evaluation process (both immediate and long-term) will be applied to volunteering initiatives to assess their suitability and value.

Section 2 - Identifying the Need for Volunteers

Any comprehensive and informed volunteer strategy must be in line with Cheshire Ireland’s strategy and must be based on clearly identified needs within the organisation.

a)To ascertain these needs, the Volunteer Manager engaged in aVolunteer Review Process in 2012 involving discussions with Managers in HR, Service Quality, Health & Safety, Finance, Clinical Risk, HIQA and with the Senior Management Team. This will be followed by meetings with Service Managers nationally. The affiliated charity C.A.M.P. will also be included and reviewed to assess possible need for volunteers or training support by the end of Q4’12.

b)From Q1-Q4 2013 service centres will be prioritised in terms of volunteer initiatives in order to enhance the quality of life of service users.

Types of Volunteers within Cheshire Ireland:

EVS – European volunteers who come to Cheshire under the European Voluntary Service program and are funded by the E.U. They are residential in the group home settings and typically come to Cheshire for a period of six months to one year.

Non-EVS – volunteers who are not funded under the EVS program.

Visiting volunteers – are casual volunteers who are involved with a service, on an on-going basis, for a few hours per week or month, supporting general activities, outings or driving the Cheshire vehicles.

Personal volunteers–are volunteers recruited specifically for one individual service user and may be involved in ‘lifestyle tasting’ or connecting the individual to a local community. Typically this role will have been advertised and will be for a set period of time.

Board of Trustees – are recruited and managed separately according to the Board of Trustees Governance Documents.

JobBridge, TUS, CE Scheme contributors do not fall under the category of volunteersand therefore the Volunteer Strategy or Volunteering Policy & Procedures do not apply to them. They are managed in accordance with the rules of each specific job placement scheme.

Section 3 - Addressing the Need forVolunteers

Key gaps will be identified within the services and addressed with publicised volunteer recruitment drives.

a)Recruitment and Selection

  • A specific volunteer role description will be prepared for each requirement within the organisation, i.e. volunteer driver (perhaps under the Gift-a-Lift campaign), lifestyle buddy, community connector etc.
  • Volunteer alternatives will be considered to see how the most suitable resources might be found to match that need, i.e. through a college internship, EVS volunteer, visiting volunteer, once-off corporate project etc.
  • Volunteer needs will also be considered carefully – (supervision, management, inclusion, mentoring and appreciation)
  • Evaluation of the possible net benefit (Time invested vs outputs gained)
  • Roles will be advertised
  • Potential volunteers will be interviewed
  • Once selected, Garda vetting will be carried out (initially, and thereafter every 2 years)
  • Three references will be checked.

b)Managing Volunteers

A volunteer agreement between Cheshire Ireland and each volunteer will be put in place to clarify expectations by both parties around the level of time commitment, confidentiality, training and specific involvement.

In a restrictive economic climate, we will strive to achieve the maximum additional involvement of volunteers, at the lowest cost. This will be achieved through:

  • Utilising the EVS grant scheme where possible
  • Assessing and utilising qualified trainers from amongst Cheshire Ireland staff
  • Coordinating training on a national level, thereby reducing the repetition of training in local services
  • Assessing and evaluating volunteer activitiesto maximise their net value to the organisation
  • Working with the Cheshire FinanceTeam to determine the annual volunteer budget, and carefully managing same
  • Ensuring that all volunteers are adequately trained to be involved safely, efficiently and with the right attitude, thus reducing the resources utilised to address issues
  • Maintaining accurate records of volunteers’ involvement in Cheshire Ireland, transitioning records to TMS over time
  • Considering appropriate once-off corporate volunteering projects
  • Hosting annual, localappreciation events to say ‘Thank You’.

c)Evaluation

  1. Individual volunteers’ contribution will be tracked on a monthly basisand compiled quarterly by the Service Manager and reported regularly to the Regional Manager.
  2. At a minimum each quarter, the Service Manager will meet with each individual volunteer to discuss their inputs, get any feedback, provide encouragement and express appreciation.
  3. Volunteering initiatives in each Cheshire Ireland service centre will be reviewed by the Regional Managers on an annual basis.

Section 4: Implementation

a)Roles and Responsibilities

  1. Board of Management and Senior Management Team

Will ensure that the Volunteering Strategy is in line with Cheshire Ireland’s Mission, Vision and Strategy and meets the organisation’s needs.

  1. National Volunteer Manager

Up until March 2014 theNational Volunteer Manager was responsible for the implementation of this strategy and was supported by the Service Quality Manager andthe Senior Management Team. TheNational Volunteer Manager was responsible for ensuring the adoption of this strategy and assimilation of the volunteering policy and procedures.

  1. Regional Managers

Regional Managers will contribute to the Volunteering ReviewProcess and ensure that clear communication on the Volunteering Strategy willbe delivered in a uniform way to Service Managers.

  1. Service Managers

Service Managers will adopt thisvolunteering strategy at local level. They will be directly involved in the on-going evaluation of volunteering needs at their services. They will implement the volunteering strategy on a day-to-day basis, following the outlined processes to ensure successful outcomes for people with disabilities and for the volunteers.

  1. Staff (including Transition and Activities Coordinators)

Volunteer Integration and Management Training will be delivered to staff within the services in a phased basis as needed. Cheshire Ireland staff will implement the volunteering initiatives in line with the volunteering strategy, policy and procedures. They will adopt an attitude of cooperation andpartnership to maximise the integration, successful performance and retention of volunteers.

b)Volunteering Implementation Plan

The Volunteering Implementation Plan 2012-2015 will initially be managed by the National Volunteer Manager and will then transition to the Regional Managers.

c)Approval and Roll-Out

Aoife O’Toole and Ann Hamilton-Lyons formed the expert group to approve the documentation. The roll-out of the Volunteering Strategy and its supporting documentation including the Volunteering Policy Procedures and Volunteering Toolkit will take place in Q1’2014.

Document: Cheshire Ireland Volunteering Strategy 2013-2015

Document version: Q1’14

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