Volunteers and volunteering during COVID-19
Advice and guidance on how to safely manage volunteers during the pandemic, as well as potential opportunities to find volunteers.
Guides & Templates
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VAL good practice for volunteers during COVID-19
VAL good practice for volunteers during COVID-19
We’ve written a guide for any organisation who is thinking about taking on volunteers to support them during the pandemic -
Guidance for Street Organisers
Guidance for Street Organisers
Street Organisers are a very practical, informal way for us all to offer our help and support during the Covid-19 pandemic -
COVID-19: Keeping volunteers safe
COVID-19: Keeping volunteers safe
A guide for VCSE groups on keeping volunteers safe during the COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic. -
COVID-19 Good Neighbour Guide
COVID-19 Good Neighbour Guide
If you want to offer informal help to those who are self-isolating, here is our short guide to help ensure you are only spreading kindness and not anything else. -
DBS Check procedures
DBS check procedures during COVID-19
A resource for you to understand more about performing DBS checks during COVID-19. -
Example Volunteer Job Descriptions
Example volunteer job descriptions
Some example job descriptions that you could use to help your volunteers understand what you need from them. -
Volunteer policy template (Microsoft Word)
Volunteer policy template
A sample template to create a volunteer recruitment policy for your organisation. -
Volunteer agreement template (Microsoft Word)
Volunteer agreement template
A sample template to create a volunteer agreement for volunteers you recruit. -
Volunteer handbook template (Microsoft Word)
Volunteer handbook template
A sample template to create a volunteering handbook, to help your organisation better manage your volunteers. -
Guidance on volunteering during the national lockdown
On 8 January the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport updated the guidance titled enabling safe and effective volunteering during coronavirus (COVID-19). The guidance aims to help organisations and groups understand how to safely and effectively involve volunteers during the pandemic. Read more
Other resources
- NAVCA: What we’ve learnt about payment methods for volunteers:
NAVCA is the national membership body specifically for local sector support and development organisations (also known as local infrastructure) in England.
They have written an article about the different ways to handle transactions – such as by volunteers shopping for a person in self-isolation. It includes: what supermarkets are offering, what other organisations are offering such as expend, and other options available. - Volunteer Learning Passport – elearning module for potential volunteers
The Volunteer Learning Passport content is free to access, and registration is required for this to enable users to track their learning, provide feedback on sessions, and retain certificates of completion - Update from Association of British Insurers.
Support those who use their cars to help their communities. (see point 4 on link above)
If you are using your own car for voluntary purposes to transport medicines or groceries to support others who are impacted by Covid-19, your cover will not be affected. You do not need to contact your insurer to update your documents or extend your cover. This applies to all categories of NHS Volunteer Responders, including transporting patients, equipment, or other essential supplies.