Christian Aid has become the first national development charity to be awarded the Investing in Volunteers standard.
The charity manages 450 regular volunteer fundraisers, teachers, media officers, office administrators and public speakers across the UK.
Read some of our volunteers' stories
Included in that number are 22 full-time volunteer gap year recruits, aged 18-25, who spend 10 months supporting regional staff to engage young people on issues such as climate change, poverty reduction, health and sanitation and HIV through campaigning, events and public speaking.
More about Christian Aid's gap year scheme
Volunteers' huge contribution
Marie Raffay, Christian Aid’s volunteering manager, says: ‘Christian Aid is delighted to have achieved the Investing in Volunteers standard.
‘All our volunteers make a huge contribution and we are committed to providing them with the best possible support.
Christian Aid has been working on earning the accreditation since March 2008.
Raffay adds: ‘Working towards Investing in Volunteers has enabled us to identify how we can improve the way in which we recruit, train and support regular volunteers.’
Volunteering a two-way process
The Investing in Volunteers standard requires organisations to meet ten indicators of good practice covering all aspects of volunteer management.
Christian Aid has implemented a number of new procedures as a result of working towards the standard including promoting opportunities more widely to attract a greater diversity of volunteers, developing training courses to enable them to be more confident and effective in their roles and introducing feedback mechanisms to allow volunteers to share their views and ideas.
‘Volunteering is a two-way process,’ Raffay adds, ‘and we want to offer our volunteers the chance to gain new skills and feel they are a valued part of the team while making an important contribution to our work to eradicate poverty in developing countries.’
Christian Aid is supported by thousands of people who give their time to the charity, including collecting during its annual Christian Aid Week and taking part in challenge events, however the Investing in Volunteers award applies only to those who volunteer on a regular basis and are directly managed by the charity and undergo induction and training.