I attended some interesting training last week looking at new approaches and perspectives around volunteer retention.
There were seven key things that were identified as being important to do in order to engage with a volunteer (and hopefully retain them):
• Be flexible
Eg: Have more than one volunteering role. Make it easier for people to come back and volunteer again if they have to take some time out.
Respect For All is a registered charity offering counselling and play therapy to people have learning disabilities, Asperger’s, or autistic spectrum conditions, and supporting their parents, families and carers across Greater Manchester.
Make sure you have a unique Manchester Day experience by being part of the show. 
There are hundreds of opportunities to be part of the event, and Manchester Day is looking for enthusiastic people to play a key role in helping to bring the streets of Manchester alive with colour, music and performances.
Manchester City Council is leading the city’s arrangements to mark the anniversary of the Manchester Arena attack on Tuesday 22 May 2018. 
Those affected by those terrible events will want to mark the date in different ways, so the programme is varied and takes different forms, to make sure that people can feel connected to it.
Manchester’s Night Heroes are four dedicated and trained groups of volunteers based in the city centre, who are committed to ensuring that your night out is as safe and secure as possible. Working in conjunction with the emergency services, volunteers are there to help people who are distressed due to a variety of reasons, be it alcohol or drugs, lost possessions, lost friends and even a flat mobile battery. 
ICYMI: A little bit about the Active Communities Team at Macc:
"Volunteers’ Week is an annual celebration of the fantastic contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK. It takes place from 1 - 7 June every year."
The volunteer centre marks Volunteers’ Week annually with events and activities in Manchester: issuing certificates, delivering training, marketing campaigns, volunteering fairs etc.
A little over 2 weeks into the UK Spring, and I've yet to reach for the cleaning products...
"Curiously enough, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias as it fell was “Oh no, not again”.
Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly why the bowl of petunias had thought that we would know a lot more about the nature of the Universe than we do now."