DO YOU WANT TO FIND OUT ABOUT VOLUNTEERING IN CLARE

 If you are interesting in finding out about volunteering in Co. Clare or you are a group looking for volunteers - contact the Clare Volunteer Centrepart og the Volunteer Centres Ireland  (VCI) network. 

Volunteer centres act as ‘brokers’ between individuals who want to undertake voluntary activity and organisations that seek to involve volunteers. Their primary function is to match individuals and groups interested in volunteering with appropriate volunteering opportunities and to offer advice and support to volunteers and organisations through a range of services.

Role of VCI

Volunteer Centres Ireland (VCI )is the national organisation with responsibility for developing volunteering nationally and locally, a mandate approved and supported by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. We are a membership organisation, established by volunteer centres to co-operate and network on any issue relating to volunteer centres and volunteering in Ireland.

 Vision Statement

Our vision is for a society in which:

• Everyone has access to volunteering opportunities that are fulfilling and engaging, and which contribute to the development of community and the betterment of society.
• Volunteers are respected for the time and effort they contribute

Mission Statement

It is VCI 's mission to:

• Support and enable the development of a volunteering infrastructure, especially through local volunteer centres
• Develop and promote best practice volunteering
• Through presenting a national picture, inform future initiatives and influence policy within the sector and publicly

Aims and Objectives

The aims and objectives of VCI are as follows:

• To promote and facilitate volunteering in Ireland
  
• To promote and facilitate equal opportunity and diversity in volunteering in Ireland
• To promote and develop best practice within volunteer centres and the organisations and individuals they work with
• To facilitate the sharing of information and resources between volunteer centres
• To enable volunteer-involving organisations to build capacity through effective volunteer management
• To link with relevant volunteering bodies nationally and internationally
• To stimulate debate around volunteering and keep volunteering at the forefront of the policy agenda
• To inform future initiatives and influence policy within the sector and publicly

History of Volunteer Centre Ireland

Volunteer Centres Ireland (VCI) began in the year 2000 when some of the earliest volunteer centres in Ireland (including what is now the Tallaght Volunteer Centre and Volunteering Ireland), came together to discuss common issues that affected them all.

Volunteer centres act as ‘brokers’ between individuals who want to undertake voluntary activity and organisations that seek to involve volunteers. Their primary function is to match individuals and groups interested in volunteering with appropriate volunteering opportunities and to offer advice and support to volunteers and organisations through a range of services.

Local volunteer centres provide an invaluable link between volunteer-involving organisations and individual volunteers and are a vital element of the volunteering infrastructure of any country.

In 2001, it was decided to formalise this grouping and Volunteer Centres Ireland was born. VCI adopted a constitution, membership criteria and agreed aims and objectives.

Clare Volunteer Centre

Contact: Sharon Meaney

Phone: 061 36 11 44

Email: sharon@volunteerclare.ie

Web: www.volunteerclare.ie