Inspiration
Welcome to our blog! Here you'll find a whole range of stories, ideas and resources all about volunteering.
If you'd like to narrow your search, please use the categories panel on this page, or click on a tag after any blog.
Our new sociable walking groups set up by Sutton Befrienders are to help people in the community get active, have fun and enjoy the benefits of walking in a safe and friendly group.
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Spending time in green space or bringing nature into your everyday life can benefit both your mental and physical wellbeing. And doing these things as a volunteer will benefit you even more!
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For the fourth year running, Volunteer Centre Sutton is delighted to support ShareTheMiracle, a community initiative collecting chocolate eggs to donate to those less fortunate at Easter.
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Our Young Commissioners help shape Healthwatch Sutton's recent survey into young people and mental health
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Your free online volunteer recruitment platform just got better!
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Tuesday 27th November is #GivingTuesday and to celebrate we want to share with you some very festive volunteering opportunities in Sutton this Christmas as well as ways you can support local giving initiatives.
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Andrew and Sue met volunteering in 1971 and have just celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary!
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With this funding, our two organisations will work together to deliver a programme across Sutton’s voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector. We will build and develop the capacity, skills, knowledge and experience of the sector, helping to transform Sutton’s communities.
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Between the 1st and 24th December, we’re bringing you a new volunteering opportunity from organisations in Sutton and beyond
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Afraid of leaving the house and struggled to cope with the demands of school life, he turned to MAPS for support
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She needed help to process her abusive childhood experiences
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But a love of fast cars and a mentor helped him find a way forward
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Unable to see a future, she turned to MAPS for help
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A brief summary of some of the findings from our recent research pilot looking into the effects of volunteering on health and wellbeing
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Our volunteer management system, Volunteer Connect, has recently had some useful updates - find out how these changes benefit your charity or group!
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Guest blogger Sorrel Parsons of Superhighways shares her top 5 free and easy-to-use apps to help small charities better demonstrate their impact. Part of our new Digital resources blog series!
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Pat, our Volunteering Development Manager, relates the story of Myra, one of the participants in our prescribed volunteering project, who said that volunteering helped her health recovery.
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Pat, our Volunteering Development Manager, relates the story of Patrick, one of the participants in our prescribed volunteering project, who said that volunteering is the connection between his old world and his new world.
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This Trustees Week, many organisations will be celebrating their trustees who volunteer their time and skills in governance. Trustees make a huge impact - why not look into becoming one yourself?
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We asked Judith Smith, Pastor of Horizon Church Sutton to write a guest blog about the positive experiences her church has had hosting Employer-Supported Volunteer teams at her church building, from which several community projects are run. She shares about the impact of ESV, some of the challenges and her top tips for any organisation thinking of hosting an ESV team.
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We at Volunteer Centre Sutton are thrilled to announce that we've been awarded a Big Lottery Fund grant to develop our work to support those who are socially excluded in the London Borough of Sutton.
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Employer Supported Volunteering (ESV) has great potential for growth. Volunteer Centre Sutton hosted its most recent Volunteering Forum around the topic, hearing from the experiences of a charity who has accessed ESV support and a business who has empowered its staff to provide it, and discussing the way forward for ESV in the London Borough of Sutton.
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Matt (Digital Inclusion Coordinator) interviews Helen Gasparelli (Mentoring & Advocacy Manager) about her recent Employee Volunteering (EV) experience.
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Volunteer Centre Sutton’s Citizens Commissioners are excited to welcome former members of the Sutton Youth Parliament to join them to represent the voice of young residents in the commissioning decisions of Sutton Council.
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69-year old Noreen has lived in Sutton for almost 5 decades and spent 3 years at Volunteer Centre Sutton helping people find volunteering roles that match their skills and passions. She told us how this gave her a new purpose in life
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VCS's Volunteering Development Manager, Pat Stanley, has 15 years' experience training in the voluntary sector and advising organisations in developing Good Practice in Volunteer Management, Here, she asks some important questions of those managing volunteers.
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Petrica is a mum of 2 teenage boys who has lived in the area the whole of her life. After thinking about volunteering for years, she took the plunge on New Year’s Day, 2010
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Priya volunteers at the Refugee and Migrant Network in Sutton, where she teaches English as a Second language to adults
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