Success Stories

As part of Volunteers Week 2021, we are sharing some of the stories of our staff, who volunteer outside of VAL.

Helen Oparinde, in VAL’s Voluntary Sector Support Team tells us her story.

Accept Mental Health were awarded £10,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund.

Read how VAL supported the Peepul Enterprise in successfully securing £100,000 from Barclays Bank - Community Aid Funding. 

Throughout the pandemic, VAL has been providing free online training for voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations in Leicester and Leicestershire.

During the pandemic, VAL worked to update and refresh its VAL Volunteering website to improve the experience for volunteers and organisations recruiting volunteers.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions and guidelines on social distance, VAL has not been able to provide face to face volunteering advice through drop-in sessions and attendance at events. In addition to virtual meetings and events, VAL has recorded several webinar sessions for partner organisations to use.

During the Covid-19 pandemic we have seen an increase in schools/colleges/universities and young people contacting the volunteering team looking to volunteer to expand their knowledge, skillset and to build their confidence - that's why the WiLL Project started a Youth Panel.

For years we have enacted positive change for the local voluntary sector and although the COVID-19 restricted our face-to-face service delivery, VAL’s commitment to volunteers and volunteering enabled us to be a key driving force during the pandemic.