How we have been investing in Volunteering

Over the past year, we have been working towards the Investing in Volunteers Accreditation – a national quality standard that recognises how organisations value, support and involve their volunteers.  

We want to say a huge thank you to our all of our wonderful Volunteers who support our community, and who helped us achieve the Investing in Volunteers Kitemark. It was thanks to your support, time, feedback and honesty that we were able to achieve it.  

The Investing in Volunteers accreditation means that we will support our Volunteers more by protecting your wellbeing, investing in training, and continue to value your contributions.  

The process 

To achieve the Kitemark, we took part in a six-step process. This involved: 

1. An introductory workshop – this brought together a range of stakeholders including our own volunteers to think about how our charity operates in relation to the standard and what we want to achieve.  
2. Self-Assessment – Our Volunteering Coordinator, Lavonne, completed a self-assessment checklist to identify that we now sit within the Investing in Volunteers standard 
3. Improving practice – Lavonne had to complete the Improving Practice plan to identify what activities/policies we already had in place, and what we still needed to complete or improve on. 
4. Assessment – The Investing in Volunteers Assessor met with different people from the PSPA community including, staff, volunteers, Trustees, in-person, online and over the phone. This was to assess whether the charity met the standard based on three standards: you have met the standard, you have met the standards with conditions, you have not met the standard. 
5. Achieving and celebrating the award – Once the assessment was complete, Investing in Volunteers confirmed in July we had been successful in achieving the Investors in Volunteering PSPA of the great news and later provided a report.  
6. Continual improvement and maintaining the standards – Having achieved the award, this is now an opportunity to continue to improve but also maintain the good practice we’ve achieved.  

Your experiences  

A number of you, our amazing volunteers, took part in the assessment. Here are some of your experiences:  

“It was a very fair session where I was encouraged to participate. The questioning was very fair. The Kitemark is externally validated and thus provides an independent assessment of quality, and I feel proud to be a part of the organisation.” – Robert Lambourn 

“I was really pleased to be involved in it and play a (very) small part in helping to achieve the Kitemark. The questions were around how valued and supported we felt as volunteers. I think PSPA treat volunteers really well and am thrilled that they’ve achieved the Kitemark, it’s very deserved.” – Lisa Silcock  

“It is always a pleasure to share my experiences as a volunteer with PSPA to help shape how we can work together in an efficient and practical way, sharing knowledge and experiences that benefit others.” – Eram Osman 

“I was very pleased to reflect how PSPA, through the Men’s Zoom Group, helps bring men together to share experiences and support each other. I have been, and they are now, on the front line caring for their loved ones, so there is that unspoken understanding between us. We are like a “Band of Brothers”. This helps them all to hear from and share with each other. Effectively, we are walking in each other’s shoes, facilitated by the PSPA.” – David Pugh 

“We were happy to be chosen to take part in the discussion group. Clearly the accreditation was very important to the PSPA, so to help in any way possible was important to us too. We were asked how long we had been volunteering, how we first became involved, what we got out of volunteering and how volunteers were supported. We feel that volunteers do an amazing job, and if our contribution has helped in any way, then we feel proud that PSPA has been awarded the Kitemark.” –
Di Newton and Edna Ross 

“I was very pleased to be interviewed for the Investing in Volunteers Accreditation. It was evidence that PSPA appreciate and support volunteers within the organisation. I think it was more finding about why people volunteer and in my case for personal reasons, to give something back to an organisation that helped me when I needed it.  But ultimately has PSPA supported me in my role as a volunteer, which wholeheartedly is yes. We were asked how we were supported, and my reply was regular emails, PSPA updates, zoom meetings, phone calls.  PSPA regularly sign post us to new information and new services available. I truly believe I am valued as a volunteer both by the PSPA Organisation but also the members who attend the Norwich Support Group.” – Linda Moore 

“I thought PSPA deserved to be awarded the Kitemark because we are supported in so many ways. So much more than when I first became a volunteer. Back then we had occasional Development Days but that was our only contact with the Association, unless we asked for help. Now, in addition to Development Days, we have Zoom meetings four times a year, regular newsletters and updates and occasional visits from staff other than the Volunteer Coordinator.” – Jenny Knight 

Lavonne, our Volunteering Coordinator shared:

“Achieving this accreditation is very important to us as a charity, and ultimately, recognises and strengthens the experience we offer to you as volunteers, ensuring it is positive, supportive and rewarding. It also helps us demonstrate good practice when applying for funding, which in turn supports the services we provide.” 

Although we’re excited to have received the Investing in Volunteers accreditation, covering the next three years, we will continue to monitor and evaluate our support to volunteers to ensure we provide an environment where they feel included and can thrive.