“The evidence is already clear and overwhelming that volunteering can be good for volunteers’ wellbeing, and that volunteering is best for the wellbeing of those who need it most- people who may experience lower levels of wellbeing.”

So wrote Dr Jurgen Grotz of the Institute for Volunteering Research, based at our very own UEA, in an October 2020 article following the publication of their report on Volunteer wellbeing: what works and who benefits?

It is this principle that underpins a new partnership project, Volunteering for Health, to be delivered by partners in the Norfolk & Waveney Integrated Care System, including Voluntary Norfolk.

The two-year project aims to engage people who experience health inequalities, particularly those with learning disabilities, autism or neurodiversity, and looked-after children, and support them into volunteering roles. A new post of Volunteering Innovation Manager, based at Voluntary Norfolk, will work closely with VCSE organisations that already support these cohorts to access a new Get Involved Innovation Fund to enable them to develop new pathways into volunteering.

Get Involved Innovation Fund

This week, an online launch event introduced this work and the Innovation Fund – if you missed it, a recording will be made available soon – please keep an eye on future newsletters, the Voluntary Norfolk website or Get InVOLved Norfolk to watch it.

A separate strand of activity will see a new Volunteering Development Manager – Health & Care, work with staff in healthcare settings to recognise the benefits of engaging with volunteers and to develop best practice volunteer management skills. Through this initiative, volunteers will have increased opportunities to support the NHS at a local level by helping out at local doctors’ surgeries, community pharmacies or even dental practices.

The final strand of activity is an extension to Get InVOLved Norfolk, the successful volunteer recruitment platform, called Get InVOLved Skills. This new site will host a wide range of training and development opportunities for volunteers and volunteer managers, to ensure that everyone has access to developing their personal and professional skills relevant to volunteering. The new site will be live from the start of May although the content will evolve and grow as more organisations offer to share existing training or develop new activities.

We are really excited to take this work forward and particularly to work closely with local VCSEs to collaboratively explore what inclusive volunteering can look like and the benefits it can bring to individuals.

Further information about the project can be found at https://improvinglivesnw.org.uk/volunteering-for-health-norfolk-and-waveney/ – or contact the Voluntary Norfolk team at volunteercentre@voluntarynorfolk.org.uk