Looking for Volunteers?
Volunteering MMU offers a free brokerage service for Not for Profit (NFP) organisations across Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
Students are highly valued as volunteers as they can bring youth and enthusiasm to an organisation, whilst offering specific skills, knowledge and expertise. They can make an important contribution to the work of a range of voluntary organisations; from small community groups and national charities to public sector bodies such as schools, prisons and hospitals.
Provide a quality volunteering opportunity, with a clear description of the role and an indication of time commitment.
Let volunteers know who is responsible for their management and support.
Provide volunteers with an induction into the work and systems of the organisation. Including details of relevant policies such as confidentiality, equal opportunities, health and safety, child protection and grievance procedures.
Review the work the volunteer undertakes and consider the provision of opportunities for training at regular intervals.
Treat volunteers and employees equally. Be clear on the relationship between paid workers and volunteers. Volunteers should not be used as a substitute for a paid employee.
Recognise the work undertaken by the volunteer and be prepared to give them a reference describing their contribution to your organisation and the experience and skills they have gained.
Where possible to reimburse volunteers for any out of pocket expenses. If you are unable to do this then please make the volunteers aware of this before they join your organisation.
Being in full-time education can mean that there are limitations to the time students have available to commit to an organisation. So when discussing your requirements with a student, you should find out the times of the academic year when they will be completing exams and assignments. Many students will also take advantage of the long holidays to find paid employment. We expect students to inform you of these times and to provide you with as much notice as possible.
Transport, or lack of it, may also affect a student’s ability to volunteer. It is always helpful to give students details about how to get to and from your project using public transport and to take into account the time it may take and the cost if expenses are not reimbursed.
The Health and safety and wellbeing of our volunteers are of great importance and are the responsibility of the host organisation, which must ensure that volunteers are in a safe environment. The host organisation should undertake a risk assessment of volunteer activities. Volunteers should receive a basic induction so that they are fully aware of what a task entails and what action to take if something goes wrong. (N.B. Organisations should provide any special clothing or equipment required to carry out the role.).
Public liability insurance: It is the responsibility of the host organisation to have its volunteers fully insured.
Criminal Record Checks: If the role involves working with children or vulnerable adults, the host organisation is responsible for the protection of these groups and must undertake CRB checks as appropriate.
Confidentiality and data protection: Submitting your opportunity to MMU implies your consent to the data and information which you have included on the registration being stored in electronic form. This information will be kept by MMU Volunteering and will be used for volunteering purposes only.
Volunteering MMU is NOT a volunteer recruitment agency - it is a signpost service. This means that once a volunteer is involved with the organisation, they are responsible to and work under the organisation’s normal working practices. Volunteering MMU is not responsible for the volunteer’s conduct and actions.
Stay in touch with us: Please let us know when an MMU student volunteers with your organisation. Some students may ask you to sign off their logs books or to verify the time they have spent volunteering.
Keep your details current: Please let us know if your opportunity is no longer available or if you have any new opportunities that you would like us to advertise.