29 September 2020

(scroll to the bottom of this post for the list of Vincent’s shops who are currently recruiting new volunteers) It’s been a difficult time for many charities who are trying to continue their vital services  but the charity retail sector are particularly struggling.  They have always been reliant on older volunteers within their volunteer teams […]

29 September 2020

Do you want to know more about online volunteer induction?  What to include and how to make it visually appealing?  If so, Volunteer Now have the session for you! It will answer those questions and more and also explain how we do it.  There will be a Question & Answer session afterwards. The next session […]

29 September 2020

The need to help some people in the community to pay bills or carry out shopping on their behalf is likely to continue over the winter months.  The following Protocol was developed for Councils engaging with voluntary and community organisations where volunteers’ roles include carrying out activities where money is involved.   Click the title below […]

28 September 2020

Join Us! An opportunity to network and share! A follow up to our COVID-19 related VOLT series of Volunteer Now Members’ Session, looking at volunteering across themes: Planning for Involving Volunteers at Events  –  How are things going in light of COVID-19? Thursday 15 October 2020, 11.30am – 12.30pm COVID-19 has changed how we do […]

28 September 2020

Welcome to Positive Ageing Month 2020, a month-long festival of events and activities for older people, Positive Ageing Month celebrates the contribution that older people make to their communities and the city of Belfast, and no more so than this year! Now in its fifth year, the festival looks very different this year as it […]

24 September 2020

We have recently added some of our Safeguarding courses back onto our Courses Scheduled page.   Below is a list of available courses, which are all online: Keeping Children Safe: An Introduction, 29 September 2020, 10am-12.30pm Keeping Children Safe: An Introduction Refresher, 20 October 2020, 11am-1pm Keeping Children & Adults Safe: An Introduction, 18 November 2020, […]

23 September 2020

Volunteer Now launches new ‘Ordinary People – Extraordinary Times’ Photographic Series celebrating Northern Ireland’s COVID volunteer heroes Volunteer Now, the lead organisation for promoting and supporting volunteering in Northern Ireland, has launched a new photographic series capturing the work of volunteers across all six counties helping local communities in need throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Supported […]

22 September 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized how volunteers as agents of change provide the practical action that builds hope and resilience, improves lives and strengthens communities. Although the pandemic has resulted in the postponement of the 26th IAVE World Volunteer Conference to 2021, the conference theme chosen for 2020 of volunteering together to enable change and create a better […]

22 September 2020

Nominate Your Community Heroes in the 2021 Mayor’s Community Awards Mayor of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council, Councillor Nicholas Trimble is calling for nominations to the 2021 Mayor’s Community Awards. These awards acknowledge the outstanding contribution and commitment of groups or individuals across the council area. We want you to nominate your worthy local individual […]

16 September 2020

A new, free online tool for groups to help ensure that volunteers have the best possible experience A new free tool is being made available to help ensure that your volunteers have the best possible experience and can make the biggest difference.  Investing in Volunteers (IiV) Essentials has been developed by volunteers and the staff […]

15 September 2020

Join Us! An opportunity to network and share! A follow up to our COVID-19 related VOLT series of Volunteer Now Members’ Session, looking at volunteering across themes: Volunteering in Youth Groups  –  How are things going in light of COVID-19? Thursday 24 September 2020, 2.00pm – 3.00pm COVID-19 has changed how we do so many […]

14 September 2020

Would you like to improve how you manage your volunteers?  Would you like advice on developing volunteer agreements as well as how to support and motivate volunteers? We have adapted this programme to deliver it to you online.  It has been designed specifically for our sector by NICVA and Volunteer Now and provides you with […]

14 September 2020

As we are living in the middle of a pandemic, volunteering has changed.  Join Volunteer Now Enterprises Ltd for a short session looking at volunteering during the pandemic and the future of volunteering post COVID-19. Date:  Wednesday 23 September 2020 Time:  10.30am – 12.00pm Cost:  £5 +VAT Book your place here.  Joining information will be sent […]

10 September 2020

A new Clause has been added to the Immigration & Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill  –  Immigration Health Surcharge: Exemption for International Volunteers. “Immigration health surcharge: exemption for international volunteers ( ) A charge under section 38 of the Immigration Act 2014 (immigration health charge) may not be imposed on EEA and Swiss nationals […]

10 September 2020

Do you want to know more about online volunteer induction?  What to include and how to make it visually appealing?  If so, Volunteer Now have the session for you! It will answer those questions and more and also explain how we do it.  There will be a Question & Answer session afterwards. The next session […]

8 September 2020

Join Us! An opportunity to network and share! A follow up to our COVID-19 related VOLT series of Volunteer Now Members’ Session, looking at volunteering across themes: Volunteering in Environment & Heritage Groups  –  How are things going in light of COVID-19? Thursday 17 September 2020, 11.00am – 12.00pm COVID-19 has changed how we do […]

2 September 2020

The closing date for the Postgraduate Certificate in Public Administration has been extended to Friday 4 September 2020. The Course This stimulating and challenging course has been designed by Ulster University to develop the professional capacity of those working in or alongside the public sector and to ensure that existing spaces are managed in a […]

1 September 2020

Join Us! An opportunity to network and share! A follow up to our COVID-19 related VOLT series of Volunteer Now Members’ Session, looking at volunteering across themes: Volunteer Driving  –  How are things going in light of COVID-19? Thursday 10 September 2020, 11.00am – 12.00pm COVID-19 has changed how we do so many things and […]

28 August 2020

On 20 April 2020, NISRA launched a new Coronavirus (COVID-19) Opinion Survey designed to measure how the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was affecting peoples’ lives and behaviour in Northern Ireland.  A report providing a summary of the key findings following the completion of Phase 2 of this research has just been released. It shows that people […]

27 August 2020

Our latest information sheet has just been published!  ‘Volunteers & Paid Staff: Exploring the Issues‘ contains some thoughts for organisations considering the creation of volunteer roles where there were once paid staff.  It covers job substitution and key issues to consider. Click here to download.

26 August 2020

Throughout the pandemic, your support in following public health guidelines has been vital in reducing the spread of coronavirus.  By doing so, you have saved lives.  As ‘lockdown’ restrictions are eased, we face the risk of a second wave of infection.  We can all help minimise that risk by continuing to support public health measures […]

24 August 2020

Join Us! An opportunity to network and share! A follow up to our COVID-19 related VOLT series of Volunteer Now Members’ Session, looking at volunteering across themes: Volunteering in Charity Shops  –  How are things going in light of COVID-19? Thursday 3 September 2020, 11.00am – 12.00pm COVID-19 has changed how we do so many […]

10 August 2020

Join Us! An opportunity to network and share! A follow up to our COVID-19 related VOLT series of Volunteer Now Members’ Session, looking at volunteering across themes: How are things going in light of COVID-19? Volunteering in Charity Shops  –  Thursday 3 September 2020 at 11am-12pm Volunteer Driving  –  Thursday 10 September 2020 at 11am-12pm […]

7 August 2020

Does your organisation host events regularly?  Are you making plans for events next year?  Will you need volunteers help to make these happen?  Then this FREE advice service* is for you! As the lead organisation for volunteering across Northern Ireland, Volunteer Now has been involved in recruiting, training, managing and motivating volunteers at events since […]

29 July 2020

Helping the Helpers – Running effective telephone support through the involvement of volunteers Thursday 6 August 2020  |  11am-12pm Volunteer Now is delighted to be partnering with Change Your Mind and Inspire to deliver this webinar. WHO FOR?  The webinar is aimed at organisations that are supporting volunteers who are making or receiving calls with […]

23 July 2020

Young people from Turf Lodge have dedicated their free time over the past few weeks to the area, and took part in a community wide clean up on Tuesday. With the help of local political representatives, youth workers and residents, Upper Springfield Youth Team painted over graffiti, lifted rubbish on their streets and removed overgrown […]

22 July 2020

We now have a dedicated page for all our Recorded Webinars!  These webinars cover many topics in relation to volunteering and volunteer involving organisations i.e. involving volunteers in response to COVID-19, youth volunteering, fundraising, volunteer driving, guidelines for volunteers & more! View the page here.

10 July 2020

7 July 2020

Join us for the first in a series of sessions on Volunteer Now’s new online platform ‘Be Collective’: Introduction to Be Collective, Registering as  New User and Creating Your Own Personal Profile Thursday 9 July 2020 11.00am-12.00pm Volunteer Now is thrilled to have officially launched our new volunteering opportunity search portal in conjunction with the […]

7 July 2020

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest civil Award given to local volunteer groups across the UK to recognise outstanding work done in their own communities.  It is the MBE for volunteer groups.  Any group doing volunteer work that provides a social, economic or environmental service to the local community can be nominated […]