Earlier this month, on Tuesday 5th December, International Volunteer Day, Volunteer Scotland and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) launched the new volunteer search site for Scotland, which aims to “make it easier for anyone and everyone to volunteer”.
International Volunteer Day (IVD) is a unique opportunity for volunteers, their groups and organisations, to celebrate their efforts and be celebrated, to share their values, and promote what they do. The 2023 theme, “If Everyone Did”, recognised the power of collective action: “if everyone volunteered, the world would be a better place”.
The new volunteer search site has been designed to be part of this change, making volunteering more accessible for everyone in Scotland. The redevelopment has been a joint project between Volunteer Scotland and the SCVO Digital Services Team, involving many months of development, user focus and beta testing to create an accessible and user-friendly website.
New key features include:
- a new weblink at scot (linked for your convenience)
- an updated website design, using more colours, graphics and images to attract volunteers
- an updated search function
- “Beyond Opportunities”, new guidance to support volunteers around the benefits of volunteering, and awards and qualifications
- “My Volunteer Account”, which aims to provide a more personalised experience for volunteers using the site, allowing them to manage and track their volunteer journey
There are also new features for groups and organisations looking to recruit volunteers, including the option to add their own content to the website, such as:
- Volunteer Opportunities: groups and organisations can now upload and advertise their volunteer opportunities straight on to the site via an online form, along with photos, images and video
- please note that this is only available if the opportunity takes place in one local authority area (eg. the Falkirk Council area, or the Clackmannanshire Council area)
- moderation and approval of opportunities is still through the local Third Sector Interface (TSI) for each area, like CVS Falkirk
- Events: groups can now advertise their upcoming events which need volunteers, via an online form which helps highlight the related volunteering opportunities
- Volunteer Stories: these can now be added by the volunteer themselves, or groups and organisations, with options to add headers, listing images, and videos
The Volunteer Search Site upgrade and relaunch is a key action from Scotland’s Volunteering Action Plan.
For further information on the search site upgrade and relaunch, please visit the Volunteer Scotland news article.
