Welcome to our Volunteer Hub
This section contains some tips and FAQs to get your started on your Volunteering Journey. If there are any other topics you would like to see covered, please let us know!
A recap of our service to volunteers
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Volunteer Centre exists to help you with your volunteering. The Volunteer Centre does not take on volunteers directly but instead we act as a referral service, helping you to find and access volunteering opportunities that are of interest. Some volunteers choose to engage with our service online and don’t need much support from our team, others prefer to arrange an appointment with our staff – it’s up to you!
FAQs – more information on volunteering
Our Volunteer Engagement Team have provided tips and answered some frequently asked questions. If your questions aren’t answered here, please let us know – our team are here to help you to advance your volunteering.
People volunteer for a variety of reasons: to try something different, make friends, gain work experience, support a specific cause… the list is endless. Identifying why you would like to volunteer, will help you decide the type of volunteering you are best suited to.
Some people are drawn to a volunteer role because it relates to a specific cause or organisation they are passionate about, while others are more drawn by a certain activity. Review the activities available on the I-VOL search and explore the types of roles available under each category to get a sense of the variety of volunteer roles that are currently available.
Think about how much time you would like to spend volunteering – for example, one day a month, one hour a week, more than this or less? Remember your other commitments (family, hobbies, employment) and try not to over commit yourself.
How far are you willing to travel to volunteer? Will you be travelling by car or using public transport? Be practical when considering the location of a volunteering opportunity – travelling long distances might not be sustainable if you are volunteering every week.
In order to feel comfortable and confident while volunteering it’s important to seek a volunteer role, organisation and environment that will be a good fit for you. It’s good to consider your own particular interests, abilities and skills. What do you really enjoy doing? Do you prefer to work with people or not? Do you prefer to do something practical? Do you have any additional support needs?
Great that you’ve spotted something that is of interest! You can click ‘Register interest’ to take the next step and find out more about this volunteer role. Once you express your interest, a member of our Volunteer Engagement Team will follow up with you with advice on how to reach out to the organisation – we can supply contact details for the volunteer coordinator or will direct you towards to their application process. It’s important to remember that Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Volunteer Centre acts as a referral service and that each organisation will have their own specific application and/or screening process.
I-VOL is the national volunteering database, where you can find all the various volunteer opportunities active in Ireland. You can use it to choose the roles you prefer according to specific criteria. I-VOL is owned, managed and administered by Volunteer Ireland and the network of Volunteer Centres across Ireland.
There are two ways to search for a role on I-Vol:
- The I-VOL online database
This is where all the roles that we are helping organisations to recruit for are posted. Submit a search based on your location, your availability and interest and see a list of relevant volunteer roles. Click ‘View’ to get more information about a role and apply by clicking Register Interest at the bottom of the role page.
Access the database here. - The I-VOL App
Access the IVOL database on your phone! Available to download now in the App Store and Google Play Store.
Go to the I-Vol database page.
Location
You can search by location by simply putting your town, county or even your Eircode into the search bar at the top of the page. You can also select the distance around that location that you would like to search, for example Within 10 Km.
Availability
Choose the days and times that you are available to volunteer. A pink dot means you are available.
Activity
Select activities that would interest you most. You can choose up to five activities. Read about all activities here.
Category
Are you looking for a Quick Start Role? Would you like to volunteer from home? Select any category that may apply.
Once you’ve made your selections, simply submit your search. You can also save roles that might be of interest, and apply for them later.
We usually recommend you apply for a maximum of 3 roles to start. If you are not sure how to apply online, what roles will suit you or how to narrow down your options, you can contact us to discuss. We are happy to provide assistance or just point you in the right direction.
It varies depending on the role. There are some once-off informal roles where you can get started straight away, but other roles take longer. It all depends on the recruitment and screening process of the organisation. You can read more about application and screening processes under the ‘Applying for a volunteering opportunity’ tab.
Why not use the time to take part in some great Quick Start Opportunities?
This depends on the role(s) that you are interested in. Some roles are a short term and ask you to commit to a couple of hours or one day. Others might ask you to commit to a few weeks or months.
Most organisations will only ask you to commit to a couple of hours a week, on an ongoing basis.
If volunteering with vulnerable adults or young people, the organisation will generally ask you to commit to a longer time period – perhaps six months to a year. This is to allow time either for a lengthy screening process or to give you and the service users time to build up a relationship.
We’re sorry to hear you haven’t spotted a volunteering opportunity yet!
If you’re not seeing any search results it might be a good idea to broaden your search a little bit – you can do this by changing the filters on I-VOL’s Advanced Search. However it might be a good idea to reach out to a member of our Volunteer Engagement team – Anna and Briege are well placed to chat to you about your volunteering and make some recommendations based on your interests and availability. You can send an email to placement@volunteerdlr.ie or call the office on (01) 441 4444.
The National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016 commenced on 29th April 2016. The Act makes it mandatory to vet (criminal record check) any person who is carrying out work or activity, where a necessary and regular part consists mainly of the person having access to, or contact with, children (under 18s) or vulnerable adults. The National Vetting Bureau will make inquiries with An Garda Síochána or a Scheduled Organisation, as appropriate, to establish whether there is any criminal record or specified information relating to the applicant. The Bureau does not make decisions in respect of the suitability of an applicant for a position. This is the responsibility of the organisation.
The National Vetting Bureau has compiled a comprehensive list of questions and answers for individuals and organisations and on the process itself.
Your first step is always to make an application to volunteer with an organisation, for a role that requires vetting. After that the process follows these steps:
- You will receive a paper Vetting Inviter Form from the organisation you applied to volunteer with.
- You complete the Inviter Form with some basic information and return it to the organisation, along with proof of identity.
- The organisation sends your Inviter Form to the National Vetting Bureau.
- You will receive an email with a link to complete your vetting form online. The email will come from the National vetting Bureau and will be valid for 30 days.
If you have any queries or issues with your application you do not contact the National Vetting Bureau. The organisation that sent you Inviter Form to the Vetting Bureau is the one you want to contact.
If you have a query, your first point of contact should always be the organisation you applied to volunteer with. If you made a few applications and you are not sure who to contact with a query, take a look at the email from the Vetting Bureau. At the top you will see this sentence:
“This is your vetting application which you have consented to and submitted by ‘Name of organisation‘”
This is the organsation you contact with a vetting query..
No. Vetting is conducted only on behalf of relevant organisations that are registered with the National Vetting Bureau and is not conducted for individual persons on a personal basis.
The Garda Vetting process can take between 2-4 weeks. To keep things moving quickly we advise you to be very careful when filling in your details. Wrong information can cause delays as the forms will need to be submitted a second time. You should also keep checking your emails for the e-vetting form from the Bureau, this includes checking your Junk/Spam folder.
On very rare occasions, a vetting request can take a lot longer to return from the Bureau. Unfortunately there is nothing can be done to speed up the process on these occasions.
For volunteering opportunities requiring vetting you should expect it to take at least one month to get started. While this can be frustrating for some people but please bear in mind these organisations need to consider the needs and safety of their service users first. Why not try a try a short-term opportunity that does not require Vetting while you are waiting for your vetting form to return?
Most organisations will look to do some level of screening depending on the volunteering opportunity you are looking to get involved with. There are some once-off informal roles where you can get started straight away, but other roles take longer.
- Some organisations may have a simple application form.
- Some may have a formal or informal interview/meeting.
- Others check references and vet their volunteers.
In our view, the application process is an important step for both the volunteer and the organisation – it gives each of you a chance to learn more about each other and figure out if a volunteer role is going to be the right fit for you both. Of course, if for any reason you do not end up volunteering with an organisation, our Volunteer Engagement Team are on hand to support you to search for other suitable volunteering opportunities.
Our Leaflets and other useful Resources
Some useful downloads, including some of our leaflets and resources. Please free to download these and share with anyone who you feel may be interested in volunteering.
Meet some other volunteers
Here in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Volunteer Centre we understand the power of stories. Learning about someone else’s volunteering is a great way to learn what types of volunteering you may like or dislike. Volunteer Stories also help us to celebrate volunteers and volunteering in our county.
NIAMH
“I felt empowered from personal experience, to show others that you can conquer anything if you have somebody by your side who doesn’t judge and is meeting you for the first time.”
About her volunteering with Threshold Training Network as part of our 2017 Volunteer Stories project.
DEREK
“I knew nobody when I moved to Dublin, absolutely nobody, volunteering helped me meet people. I enjoy getting the physical exercise, meeting people, sharin skills and learning.”
About his volunteering with Foxrock Cabinteely GAA Club as part of our 2017 Volunteer Stories project.
TAISIA
“Volunteering has helped me meet new people, make friends and learn English.”
About her volunteering with the Dublin Local Group as part of our 2017 Volunteer Stories project.
KEITH
“Volunteering really makes you think about things and see how much of a community there is out there.”
About his volunteering with St. John Ambulance and the Alzheimer Society of Ireland as part of our 2017 Volunteer Stories project.