Retain
We want your experience volunteering with Terrence Higgins Trust to be enjoyable and memorable for all the right reasons. A big part of this is committing to dealing with any concerns and challenges in a timely manner and to actively listen and act on your ideas. We will work hard to ensure your placement is everything you hoped it would be. You will receive the following:
Supervision
Volunteers will be offered regular supervision opportunities through the Volunteer Coordinator Cymru (VCC) or with a line manager that is responsible for your placement. The VCC in collaboration with volunteers, will organise a regular supervision programme which will be in a variety of formats (group and 1-1).
Keeping in touch
All volunteers will be kept up to date with new volunteer activities and events, learning and development opportunities and the latest campaign and policy news from Terrence Higgins Trust. There will also be opportunities to feedback.
Monitoring and evaluation
We record all volunteer activity to show the impact of your work across Wales.
To support us to understand the impact volunteering has had for you we will ask you to complete a short questionnaire at the beginning and end of your placement.
Learning and development
It is important to us that you achieve your learning and development goals whilst volunteering with Terrence Higgins Trust. At the start of your placement there will be an opportunity to discuss these.
This will help us identify any further training/development needs and the kind of events/activities and placements you would be more interested in. These areas will be regularly reviewed through the volunteer supervision process.
Learning with Terrence Higgins Trust
Learning events will be organised throughout the year for volunteers to attend. The VCC will work with volunteers and Terrence Higgins Trust colleagues to gather ideas on new learning and development areas that would be of benefit to volunteers. This can include talks from our Policy, Fundraising, ED&I and Marketing teams as well as talks from service managers, members of our management and trustee team and our Chief Executive. There will also be plenty of opportunities to ask questions and to put forward your ideas for improvement.
Improvement ideas
At Terrence Higgins Trust we are always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to reach more people, and we can’t wait to hear your ideas on how we can achieve this. As a volunteer your ideas and innovations really matter to us.
Celebrate
Volunteering for many can have its own personal and professional reward, and at Terrence Higgins Trust we never underestimate the value and commitment of all our wonderful volunteers.
We will celebrate your achievements and recognise those times when volunteers go above and beyond in their volunteering placement.
Co-production and involvement
We believe that engagement and involvement with all our stakeholders is the key to ensuring the services we offer reflect the needs of people who use and/or have benefited from our services. The volunteer coordinator will keep you updated of any co-production/involvement opportunities.
Challenges and complaints
Whilst we always hope that your experience with Terrence Higgins Trust is a valuable one, we understand that at times things do not always go the way we hoped. Where complaints and challenges arise, be reassured that these will be dealt with in a timely and appropriate manner.
When it's time to say goodbye
For various reasons volunteers may decide they no longer wish to volunteer with Terrence Higgins Trust. There may also be times when the VCC or line manager has identified that the placement is not working out. Whilst we will always discuss this with you to ensure there is nothing else we can do to support you to stay, we do understand that you may still wish to leave to explore new opportunities. It is important to us that we make this a positive experience.
On competition of your volunteer placement with we can provide you with a next steps session with the VCC. You will be provided with a volunteer reference detailing your volunteering experience.
Further to this we can also discuss signposting options to other volunteering organisations in Wales that may be able to offer you the future opportunities you are looking for.
Exit questionnaire
To ensure that we continue to improve and to identify any areas that we ‘could have done better’ we will ask all volunteers to complete a short exit questionnaire. The responses from the exit questionnaires will be reviewed alongside the questionnaire you completed at the beginning of your placement. By reviewing these questionnaires, we will be able to identify both the impact volunteering has had for you and any areas of improvement for Terrence Higgins Trust.
