Presentation from the 'Building Better Buddies' parallel session at Age UK's fit as a fiddle: A lasting legacy conference

1. Building Better Buddies
Roger Jones and Bob Laventure

2. Introduction to session on Volunteering
Purpose - to disseminate
2.learning from the Fit as a Fiddle programme
to highlight issues on
• Organisational capacity, roles and
responsibilities towards managing volunteers
• Recruiting, supporting and valuing volunteers
2. practice from national Fit as a Fiddle
programmes
3. reflect on participant’s experience in
working with volunteers
Fit as a Fiddle

3. Experiences drawn from
Five national Fit as a Fiddle
programmes working with hard to
reach groups
• Residents in care/nursing homes
• Sheltered and supported living
• Older men
• Faith and ethnic minority communities
• Isolated older people living at home
National organisations as partners
To develop cascade training model for
working with volunteers
Fit as a Fiddle

4. National cascade programmes
Life and Soul Older Men
Fit as a Fiddle

5. Working effectively with volunteers
The phases of a volunteer
programme
– To plan (with partners)
– To recruit
– To train (the easy bit)
– To manage, support and to
………… value volunteers
– Evaluation
Fit as a Fiddle

6. Phase 1 – Planning with partners1.
Organisational capacity to work effectively with volunteers -
key elements
• How does volunteering contribute towards an
organisation’s vision and aims?
• Do they understand the implications of a volunteer
programme for management, policy and procedures?
• Can they identify and provide appropriate human
resources to manage a volunteering programme?
• Have they champions at each level?
There are those that can and those that can’t
Fit as a Fiddle

7. Phase 1. Organisational capacity
– examples
Key tasks and relationships required
• Managing the CRB
• Who (if anyone) is in a position to
train and support volunteers
• Fit within health and safety policy
• Potential and limits of volunteering
• Payment of volunteer out of pocket
expenses
• Clarity re volunteer roles and tasks
• Do they have a sustainability
Fit as a Fiddle

8. Phase 2 - recruiting volunteers
Recruitment strategy requires
• Communication of vision and
purpose
• Appropriate channels, media,
networks
• Clear messages and images
• Clarity on role description and
expectations
Fit as a Fiddle

9. Phase 2 - recruiting volunteers
Priority - clarity of
•Purpose of programme
•Target and participant group
(volunteers and participants)
•Role of volunteers, limits and
potential
(For volunteers, participants,
partners and the programme)
Fit as a Fiddle

10. Clarity re role of volunteer
– what are they going to do?
Engaging and Providing (physical)
motivating participants activity opportunities
Befriending Activity organisers
Mentoring Well-being activity
leaders
Peer (health) mentoring Activity assistants
Buddying Well being workshop
leader
Champions/Ambassadors P/A Exercise Leaders
Fit as a Fiddle
An Active Role Model?

11. Clarity re role of volunteer
– what are they going to do?
Because it has an impact on
• Volunteer expectations
• Partner expectations
• Recipient expectations
• Insurance, risk assessments and any liability
• Determines what they should be trained to do
• Evaluation and outcomes
Fit as a Fiddle

12. The Merchant Seamen’s War Memorial Society
16 Volunteer Buddies trained
• Gardening project
• Bee Keeping
• Organic Vegetables
• Free Range Chickens
• Fitness Suite
Fit as a Fiddle

13. The Merchant Seamen’s War Memorial Society
•A Choice of Volunteer Roles
• 1-2-1 peer mentor
• Trainer
• Support
• Group Helper
• Ambassador
Fit as a Fiddle

14. The Merchant Seamen’s War Memorial Society
Fit as a Fiddle

15. Well Being Buddy Training
Fit as a Fiddle

16. Aqua Circuit Training
Fit as a Fiddle

17. B&Q Buddies
Fit as a Fiddle

18. Fit Fans
Fit as a Fiddle

19. Celebrity Engagement Events
Fit as a Fiddle

20. User Friendly Venues
Fit as a Fiddle

21. A Well Being Buddy - Volunteers Story
“I became a volunteer because I wanted to work
more with my local community and felt that as an
active and healthy older man I could help to
encourage other men to become healthier.
My family and friends say to me that what I’m
doing is brilliant, and I have become more
confident in myself but I think I get far more
reward from the classes than I give out. I’ve made
a lot of new friends and I’m really grateful that I’ve
been given the opportunity to be a volunteer.”
Alex
Fit as a Fiddle

22. Discussion activity
Key topics highlighted in session
2. Organisational capacity, roles and responsibilities
3. Recruiting, training, supporting and valuing volunteers
Questions for discussion
How does the Fit as a Fiddle learning and
experience match your own experience and
expectations?
What is the one most important item of
Fit as a Fiddle