Hello all,
It’s Monday 22nd August 2016, we hope you all had a great weekend.
We are delighted to let you know about a new piece of work we have been working on that will be of great benefit to the local community and the organisations we work with. Over the past few months Macc and Volunteer Centre Manchester have developed a brand new system that will enable company staff to take part in Employer Supported Volunteering (ESV) and will be piloting the scheme with Manchester City Council.
What is Employer Supported Volunteering (ESV)?
Many employers in the private and public sectors can and do encourage their own staff to volunteer in their own time or provide opportunities for staff to volunteer in work time (e.g. by allowing volunteering leave). This is usually referred to as employer supported volunteering or ESV for short.
Many employers in the private and public sectors engage in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes which enable their staff to volunteer in work time. This specific element of CSR is usually referred to as Employer Supported Volunteering or ESV for short. There are many benefits for the individual, the employer and the wider community.
Manchester City Council (MCC) will shortly be launching its updated ESV programme that will potentially enable all of its employees (7000+) to dedicate up to 3 days of support per year to local VCSE groups. Not only will this extra volunteering time be of great benefit to the City of Manchester, but MCC employees could also bring a different volunteering experience, skill set and energy to your organisation. The professional skills and knowledge available could bring some fresh impetus to a project, or an extra pair of hands to get a task completed. They may help to raise the profile of your group or develop a long-term commitment to the cause you are passionate about.
Many of the employees who will engage in the ESV programme will possess specific skills, expertise and experience which may be relevant to your needs. It is therefore a good idea to think about the different types of volunteering opportunities which may be relevant to and attractive to MCC employees participating in the programme. As MCC staff are allocated a maximum 3 days per year (this can be taken all at once, or divided up) opportunities that require DBS checks or an induction may not be suitable. Opportunities that could benefit from a short-term input of energy, enthusiasm or specific skills are however more relevant to this programme.
With this type of volunteer available most organisations tend to offer the usual opportunities of “painting a building” or “gardening days” etc but we are asking you to think outside the box. Volunteers available through the ESV scheme will be capable of undertaking such tasks as helping to create a marketing plan for your social media, improving your online reputation and branding, providing feedback or insight on projects, or assisting in your finance department e.g. These are all examples but it is the type of thing that we recommend you start to think about as you move forward.
We will be introducing this new system over the next few weeks and will send you the information as and when it is ready, watch this space!
In the meantime if you do require any more information please contact Jack Puller at the Volunteer Centre on [email protected] or give us a ring on 0161 830 4700.
Thanks for reading and speak soon!
VCM