Guiding Principles and Values

Our understanding of volunteering is that:

• Volunteering is always a matter of choice and is done of the volunteers' own free will and without coercion. 
• Volunteering is a legitimate way in which citizens can participate in the activities of their community. 
• Volunteering benefits both the community and the volunteer and gives people a sense of ownership of their local community. 
• Voluntary work is unpaid. 
• Volunteering is a vehicle for individuals or groups to address human, environmental and social needs. 

We believe that:

• Volunteers should be treated with respect and dignity. 
• Everyone should have an equal opportunity to volunteer. 
• Volunteering should respect the rights, dignity and culture of others. 
• Everyone should have a positive experience of volunteering. 
• Volunteering should be a "win - win" situation for both the volunteer and the organisation. 

Therefore, we are committed to:

• Promoting the value of volunteering to all sectors of the local community. 
• Offering a service that will be inclusive, accessible and high quality. 
• Serving as best we can every volunteer who accesses our service and ensuring that volunteers are the focus of our work. 
• Resourcing and supporting volunteers to make informed choices about volunteering, maintaining relevant, up-to-date information on volunteering opportunities. 
• Developing new opportunities and projects involving volunteers in their local community 
• Referring volunteers to a wide range of community and voluntary projects across all sectors of the community. 
• Working with organisations so that they can achieve best practice principles in volunteer management. 
• Ensuring that volunteers do not replace paid workers nor constitute a threat to the job security of paid workers. 
• Promoting the principles of equity and participation within the volunteer sector.
• Raising the profile of volunteering in organisations, government and the community in general.

See also the Universal Declaration on Volunteering