Volunteer Centre Southwark turns 15!
On the 23rd November we had a celebration event for our 15th birthday. A
panel of distinguished speakers, Charles Woodd OBE, Formerly responsible for active citizenship programmes at the Department for Communities and Local Government, Caroline Edwards, Community Investment Director at Royal Bank of Scotland Global Banking and Markets and Nikki Squelch: Head of Volunteering at Scope, founding member of Association of Volunteer Managers had a lively discussion about the current climate in volunteering, employer supported volunteering and how to manage these changes.
Some points raised in the debate:
- How does Active Citizenship relate to volunteering and the current governments agenda?
- Speakers outlined the changes from longer term volunteer to short term commitment to organisations and discussed whether there had been a shift in volunteering as an Altruistic activity to something that is promoted more as a skills enhancing experience.
- How can the voluntary sector ensure that government initiatives around volunteering are complimentary rather than competition and adding value rather than taking it away?
- Discussion about the shift in corporate support for voluntary sector moving from Philanthropy to community investment
