Introduction

Little Village

• Builds small warm communities between local families
• Promotes re-using baby clothes and equipment
• Helps families who are in need by giving them good quality second-hand baby clothes and equipment.
• Works to improve living standards
• Offers child-friendly, flexible volunteering opportunities to local people
• Helps families to give their kids the best start in life

Our volunteers

• Help us to run our services
• Make sure Little Village services are what our clients need
• Increase our contacts with the local communities we serve=
• Bring to Little Village their skills and ideas
• Embody the Little Village values of Love, Thriving, Solidarity and Sustainability within the organisation and the wider community.

How we work with our volunteers

• We recruit volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds and we welcome all abilities.
• We make sure there is a role for everyone so that anyone who wants to can apply
• We work hard to make reasonable adjustments for anyone with a disability who would like to volunteer with us
• We understand that volunteers need to enjoy their work and maybe looking for personal development or training.
• We provide meaningful work and training to help volunteers to do their work effectively
• We expect all our staff to work positively with volunteers and involve volunteers in their work
• We make sure that volunteer roles are clear within the organisation so that people volunteering are really contributing to the work of Little Village
• Every volunteer has a named person who helps them and who explains everything in detail

Practical guidelines

1 Recruitment
We recruit volunteers from all sections of the community and we welcome volunteers of all ethnicities, faith communities, abilities & sexual orientations and genders.

So that we reflect our local community we might sometimes appoint a volunteer from a particular background or orientation to get the right mix of people in our service.
Everyone who applies to volunteer with us is asked to complete a simple registration form. We talk to people who apply to find out what they would like to do and what skills they can bring. We also think about whether they are suitable for the role and what work we can offer that matches their skills and experience.

Little Village must by law make sure children and vulnerable people we work with are safe. Because of this, we have to check volunteers in certain roles with us to make sure they have not been barred from working with children or vulnerable people or have a prior conviction which may impact their work with Little Village. We do this in strict confidence.

2 Volunteer agreements and voluntary work outlines
Every volunteer is given a verbal introduction to the work they will be doing and the tasks expected of them. If required, a written description of the work can be provided. We will be clear about what we offer volunteers in return. The description is not a contract. Little Village does not have contracts with volunteers.

3 Settling in and training
All volunteers get support to settle in and get to know Little Village. Volunteers will be provided an initial induction covering core policies, health and safety and an introduction to their role. Certain roles require additional training which volunteers will be asked to attend or complete online. We provide or organise the provision of any training that is needed. Where we can, we will offer extra training to volunteers in the same way we do for staff.

4 Support
Every volunteer has a named member of staff who is their main contact. That person is available to the volunteer to provide support and give feedback on the work. The contact person will also discuss further training if required. Volunteers can speak to their contact person about any problems that arise or ask for help if they need it.

5 Being part of Little Village
We believe it is important for everyone to feel part of Little Village – our staff and volunteers as well as people who donate things and the families who use our service. We encourage volunteers to talk about things and raise any issues they feel are important or are concerned about.

6 Insurance
Little Village has insurance that covers all volunteers while they are on site or doing work for Little Village.

7 Expenses
We want to make sure that there are no barriers to stop volunteers getting involved in Little Village. One way we do this is to help with expenses if this could cause a barrier to you attending- for example we can repay travel costs of up to £5 per day.

To claim travel expenses, volunteers must provide proof of journey to the session leader

8 Health and Safety
Volunteers must read Little Village’s health and safety policy and keep to its advice. They are then protected by the policy.

9 Equal Opportunities
Little Village wants to treat everyone fairly and has an equal opportunities policy. Volunteers should act in a way that shows they understand equal opportunities and support Little Village’s policy.

10 Complaints
Little Village has a complaints policy which sets out how we deal with any complaints. We help volunteers deal with any grievances or complaints as set out in the policy. Volunteers have the right to discuss any concerns with their named contact person at any time.

11 Confidentiality
Volunteers must respect the confidentiality of services users and Little Village matters in the same way as paid staff.

12 Data Protection
Any data about volunteers will be held in accordance with the Little Village data protection policy. Data will not be shared with any third parties other than in the event of a safeguarding concern.
Approved by the Little Village Board of Trustees December 2019