Time For Impact Podcast

One topic seems to have divided opinion in volunteerism in the UK recently. The Time for Impact Podcast is all about exploring innovation so we had to take a look at RVS's new platform plans.In this episode of "Time for Impact," we're joined by a true giant of the UK's charity and volunteering sector, Catherine Johnstone CBE, the CEO of the Royal Voluntary Service. Known as a positive disrupter, Catherine has a remarkable track record of leading and innovating in organisations like Samaritans and now the RVS.We dive into her latest, and perhaps most debated, project: a new national volunteering platform funded by the People's Postcode Lottery. Is it a much-needed innovation or a threat to local volunteering infrastructure? We explore the pros and cons.Catherine Johnstone CBE is a leader who has dedicated her career to public service and voluntary action. She started as a nurse in the NHS before moving into the charity sector, where she has held numerous high-profile leadership roles.CEO of Royal Voluntary Service (RVS): Catherine leads one of the UK's largest volunteering organisations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was instrumental in developing large-scale initiatives to support the NHS, including the recruitment of hundreds of thousands of volunteers.Former CEO of Samaritans: For nearly seven years, she led the suicide prevention charity, developing a long-term strategy that established it as a thought leader in suicide prevention and postvention services. Her work was recognised with a CBE in 2016.A Champion for the Sector: Her wide-ranging experience includes roles in asylum and refugee support, CEO positions in local infrastructure bodies (CVS/Volunteer Bureaus), and Chair of the Directory of Social Change. She has been at the heart of government funding decisions and is a passionate advocate for collaboration, co-chairing the Shaping the Future with Volunteering coalition.Catherine is also one of the key architects behind the Big Help Out campaign.In our conversation, we cover:The "Positive Disrupter" Mindset: What drives Catherine's passion for challenging the status quo in the volunteering sector?Lessons from a Career of Impact: From her beginnings as a nurse to leading national charities, we explore the key lessons Catherine has learned about enabling the "gift of voluntary service."The Big Help Out: We discuss the genesis and impact of this major national event and what it tells us about the future of mass participation in volunteering.The New RVS Volunteering Platform: The central topic of our discussion. Catherine outlines the vision behind the new sign-up and brokerage platform.The Future of Volunteering: What does Catherine believe the future holds? We discuss the role of digital innovation, collaboration, and the importance of supporting both large-scale and grassroots community action.Find out about the new platform here And all about how Time for Impact can help your volunteering plans hereThank you for listening to Time for Impact. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review and share it with someone who believes in the power of connection.Like any creative endeavour, bringing the podcast to life involves real costs in production, editing, planning, and execution. This podcast is our gift to the profession. However, If you find the Time for Impact Podcast valuable and wish to fuel future inspiring conversations and ideas, please consider a small, entirely voluntary contribution of £4 through our Buy Me a Coffee account:     ⁠⁠buymeacoffee.com/chriswadetfi ⁠⁠ . Your generosity, however small, directly supports our ability to continue producing this resource for the sector. Thank you for being part of our community. 🙏

What does the future of volunteering look like?In this inspiring episode, we sit down with Katerina Manoff, the dynamic CEO of the US charity, ENGin. Katerina, whose journey has taken her from Ukraine to Harvard and across the commercial and education sectors, shares how she is channeling her unique expertise into pioneering a new model for non-profits.ENGin connects Ukrainians of all ages looking to improve their conversational English with a global network of fluent speakers. But it's the how that is truly impressive for us. We explore how ENGin has built a slick, user-friendly, and incredibly flexible digital platform that supports thousands of volunteers without sacrificing a warm, inclusive, and welcoming community feel.Join us as we discuss the art of scaling volunteer engagement, the critical role of technology in building community, and the profound personal and professional growth that occurs on both sides of the screen. We delve into the power of individual stories to demonstrate impact and celebrate the meaningful, cross-cultural connections that are changing lives one conversation at a time. I was so moved by ENGin's mission and model that I've even signed up as a volunteer myself!About Our Guest:Katerina Manoff is the CEO of ENGin. Born in Ukraine and educated in the United States, Katerina is a Harvard graduate who brings a powerful blend of commercial strategy and educational passion to the non-profit sector. Her leadership is shaping the future of digital volunteering, creating scalable solutions that foster deep human connection.In This Episode, We Discuss:Crafting an Exceptional Volunteer Experience: How ENGin has made its onboarding and participation process so slick, user-friendly, and welcoming.The Power of Flexibility: Why modern, digital-first volunteering must be adaptable to volunteers' lives.Scaling with Soul: The challenges and triumphs of growing a volunteer base into the thousands while maintaining a strong sense of community.Tech for Good: Leveraging technology not just for efficiency, but to build genuine, inclusive communities.More Than Altruism: The unexpected pathways for professional and personal growth that volunteering can offer.The Impact of a Story: How sharing authentic experiences from volunteers and students demonstrates the true impact of the mission.A Two-Way Street: Exploring the mutual benefits of volunteering and the value it brings to both the student and the mentor.Beyond Borders: The importance of building meaningful, one-on-one connections across different cultures.Resources & How to Get Involved:Learn more about ENGin's mission: https://www.enginprogram.org/Become a Volunteer: Inspired by our conversation? Join me and thousands of others making a difference. The commitment is flexible, and the impact is immense. https://www.enginprogram.org/volunteer Follow ENGin on Social Media:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/65703219/admin/feed/posts/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enginprogram/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/enginprogram/Bluesky : https://bsky.app/profile/enginprogram.bsky.socialYouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@ENGinprogramTelegram: https://t.me/ENGinprogramThank you for listening to Time for Impact. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review and share it with someone who believes in the power of connection.Like any creative endeavour, bringing the podcast to life involves real costs in production, editing, planning, and execution. This podcast is our gift to the profession. However, If you find the Time for Impact Podcast valuable and wish to fuel future inspiring conversations and ideas, please consider a small, entirely voluntary contribution of £4 through our Buy Me a Coffee account:     ⁠buymeacoffee.com/chriswadetfi ⁠ . Your generosity, however small, directly supports our ability to continue producing this resource for the sector. Thank you for being part of our community. 🙏

How can volunteering move from being a 'nice-to-have' to a strategic asset that helps the NHS meet its most critical targets? In this episode, we uncover how HelpForce and its partners are revolutionising the role of volunteers, transforming them into a powerful force for change.We're joined by Amerjit Chohan, the new CEO of HelpForce, Laura Greene from Kingston and Richmond NHS Trust, and dedicated volunteer Ray Symons. During our conversation, we learned why HelpForce were described as alchemists, supercharging the impact and leverage of NHS volunteering teams.We explore how HelpForce's expert approach to impact evaluation is proving how volunteers are critical in helping patients get home sooner and freeing up vital NHS resources. We also delve into their innovative programmes, from creating pathways to employment to providing a robust consultancy model that gives volunteering professionals bigger backup. This is a story about delivering proven national solutions while celebrating local flavour, power, and fit.Please do check out their new initiative 'Giving Back, Transforming Care'. https://helpforce.community/giving-back-transforming-care Guests:Amerjit Chohan: The new CEO of HelpForce. He discusses his vision for embedding volunteering into the strategic fabric of the NHS, using data and evaluation to drive transformational change.Laura Greene: Head of Volunteering and Community Partnerships at Kingston and Richmond NHS Trust. Laura shares the on-the-ground perspective of partnering with HelpForce and how their support provides "bigger backup" to local volunteer managers.Ray Symons: A dedicated volunteer at Kingston Hospital. Ray provides the essential human element, sharing how the structured support and clear goals empower him to make an even greater difference to patients and staff.NEW CAMPAIGN - Giving Back, Transforming Care: Explore the new initiative and find out how you can support it.Link: https://helpforce.community/giving-back-transforming-careHelpForce: Learn more about their national work, programmes, and impact evaluation.Website: www.helpforce.communityKingston Hospital Volunteering: Find out more about the work Laura and Ray are involved in.Website: www.kingstonhospital.nhs.uk/get-involved/volunteering/Thank You for Listening to Time for Impact!If this conversation sparked an idea or inspired you, please share this episode with someone who needs to hear it. Don't forget to subscribe on your favourite podcast platform and leave us a review—it helps us prove our own impact!Like any creative endeavour, bringing the podcast to life involves real costs in production, editing, planning, and execution. As a small charity consultancy, our primary income comes from providing paid advice and training, allowing us to freely share our hard-earned expertise and insights through this podcast and our blog. We believe deeply in empowering the charity sector's success.This podcast is our gift to the profession. However, If you find the Time for Impact Podcast valuable and wish to fuel future inspiring conversations and ideas, please consider a small, entirely voluntary contribution of £4 through our Buy Me a Coffee account:     buymeacoffee.com/chriswadetfi  . Your generosity, however small, directly supports our ability to continue producing this resource for the sector. Thank you for being part of our community. 🙏

In this powerful live-recorded episode, we were thrilled to partner with NAVCA (The National Association for Voluntary and Community Action) to host a vital conversation in front of their members.Following up on NAVCA's excellent Guide to Inclusive Volunteering, hosts Chris Wade and Matt Cobble are joined by an expert panel to explore how we can move from intention to action. How do we adapt our cultures, processes, and language to make our organisations genuinely welcoming and inclusive for everyone?We are joined by three incredible guests who share their frontline experience: Holly Notcutt from Volunteering Matters, who champions youth social action; Debbie Saddler from Unlock, an organisation working with people with criminal records; and Ciara Devlin, CEO of Breaking Barriers, a charity helping refugees into employment.This episode is packed with practical advice, challenging questions, and inspiring insights for any organisation looking to build a more diverse, dynamic, and truly representative volunteer team.Meet Our Expert PanelHolly Notcutt (Volunteering Matters): Holly works on the #iWill movement, a UK-wide campaign that believes all children and young people should be supported and empowered to make a positive difference on the issues that affect their lives, their communities, and broader society.Learn more at: https://www.iwill.org.uk/ and https://volunteeringmatters.org.uk/ Debbie Saddler (Unlock): Debbie is the Head of Delivery and Programmes at Unlock, a national advocacy charity that provides a voice and support for people with criminal records, helping them to move on positively with their lives.Learn more at: https://unlock.org.uk/Ciara Devlin (Breaking Barriers): Ciara is the CEO of Breaking Barriers, a charity dedicated to helping refugees in the UK acquire meaningful employment.Learn more at: https://breaking-barriers.co.uk/

Is it volunteering if it's a meeting? Is it charity if it's a sales pitch? In this groundbreaking episode of Time for Impact, we sit down with Andrew Kaufmann, the visionary founder of the Time to Give Network, to challenge everything you thought you knew about giving back.Andrew, with his roots in the high-stakes world of FinTech sales, brings a revolutionary perspective to the non-profit sector. He saw firsthand how difficult it was to capture the attention of influential leaders and decision-makers. He also recognised the immense value of their time. This sparked a game-changing idea: what if that time could be a powerful tool for social good?In this conversation, we delve into Andrew's innovative model that allows the influential and time-poor to support causes they are passionate about in a way that suits their demanding schedules. We explore how the Time to Give Network is connecting businesses with key figures, with the "payment" for their valuable time and insights being a donation to their chosen charity.Tune in to discover:The unique proposition of the Time to Give Network: turning a meeting into a charitable act.Why this flexible, high-impact form of volunteering is attracting influential individuals who might not engage in traditional charitable activities.The powerful ripple effect: how a single conversation can translate into significant support for a worthy cause.This episode will leave you questioning the very definition of volunteering and inspired by the untapped potential of turning everyday business interactions into opportunities for meaningful impact. Is this the future of corporate social responsibility and individual giving? Listen now and decide for yourself.Find out more about Andrew Kaufmann and the Time to Give Network:Website: https://www.timetogive.network/If you find the Time for Impact Podcast valuable and wish to fuel future inspiring conversations and ideas, please consider a small, entirely voluntary contribution of £4 through our Buy Me a Coffee account:                     buymeacoffee.com/chriswadetfi  . Your generosity, however small, directly supports our ability to continue producing this resource for the sector. Thank you for being part of our community.

Hosts: Chris Wade & Matthew CobbleGuest: Victoria McCormack, Grow Remote (Ireland)Episode Summary:In this inspiring episode, Chris and Matthew are joined by the incredible Victoria McCormack from Grow Remote in Ireland. Grow Remote is a pioneering organisation dedicated to fostering vibrant communities of remote workers, not just across Ireland but beyond borders. We dive deep into how the rise of remote work is breathing new life into small communities, creating deeper bonds, and enhancing community cohesion in powerful and unexpected ways.Victoria shares invaluable insights into how charities and community groups can better leverage the immense potential of remote workers, offering practical strategies for engaging and empowering these skilled individuals. We explore innovative approaches to volunteer recognition and reward, moving beyond traditional methods to truly value contributions. A key takeaway from our conversation is Victoria's compelling perspective on initiating volunteering by first identifying challenges, rather than immediately presenting solutions, and the transformative power of bringing local people together around shared problems. We also delve into the critical importance of cultivating opportunities for leadership that aren't tied to formal positions or titles, recognising that leadership can be fluid and fleeting, yet incredibly impactful.Key Discussion Points:Remote Workers as Community Catalysts: How the influx of remote workers can revitalise local economies, bring diverse skills, and foster a renewed sense of belonging in smaller towns and villages.Strengthening Community Cohesion: Exploring the tangible ways remote workers contribute to the social fabric and create stronger, more connected local communities.Charities & Remote Talent: Practical advice for charities on effectively engaging remote volunteers, understanding their unique skills, and integrating them into impactful initiatives.Rethinking Volunteer Recognition: Innovative and meaningful ways to reward and acknowledge the invaluable contributions of volunteers, moving beyond traditional methods.The "Challenge-First" Volunteering Mindset: Victoria's powerful philosophy on identifying community challenges as the starting point for volunteering, encouraging organic, problem-driven solutions.The Power of Convening: The importance of bringing local people together to discuss shared challenges, fostering collective problem-solving and action.Fluid Leadership: How to create opportunities for leadership within communities that are not bound by formal titles or positions, recognising the dynamic and often temporary nature of impactful leadership.Resources Mentioned in this Episode:Grow Remote: Learn more about their mission and initiatives at www.growremote.ieSupport Chris and Matt's work: If you've enjoyed this episode and want to support the Time for Impact podcast, you can buy Chris a coffee at coff.ee/chriswadetfiTime for Impact Consultancy: For all your volunteering strategy and impact measurement needs, visit www.timeforimpact.co.ukListen Now:The Time for Impact Podcast is available on all the usual platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

Welcome & IntroductionWelcome to Episode 23 of Time for Impact!This is a special celebratory episode marking the 41st Annual Volunteers' Week in the UK (June 2nd - 8th, 2025).We're diving deep into the significance of this week, the impact of volunteering, and how we can all play a part.A huge thank you to all the incredible volunteers across the UK for their dedication and invaluable contributions.Today, we're thrilled to be joined by two fantastic guests who are at the heart of the volunteering sector.Introducing Our GuestsMargaret Starkie: Partnership and Communications Manager at Volunteer Scotland. Margaret plays a vital role in promoting and supporting volunteering across Scotland, leading on impactful campaigns like Volunteers' Week. With Volunteer Scotland since 2009, she brings a wealth of experience in advancing volunteer participation.Dominic Pinkney: CEO of www.works-4u.com, a not-for-profit social enterprise specialising in employee volunteering and sponsor of this year's Volunteers' Week celebrations. Dom is also the CEO of two bustling London volunteer centres: Volunteer Centre Camden and Hammersmith & Fulham Volunteer Centre. He's a passionate advocate for volunteering, with experience presenting on the topic at the United Nations and recently leading the "London Vision for Volunteering" initiative.Discussion Points Covered:The History and Enduring Impact of Volunteers' Week:Initiatives, Ambitions, and Strategic Importance:The Power of Partnership:Reward and Recognition of Volunteers:The Broader Volunteering Landscape (Insights from our Guests):Call to Action:Get Involved! This Volunteers' Week, explore how you can make an impact in your community.Thank a Volunteer! Make a special effort to acknowledge and appreciate the volunteers you know.Organisations: Use Volunteers' Week to reflect on your volunteer program, share learnings, and engage your stakeholders.Find volunteering opportunities:Share your volunteering stories and how you're celebrating Volunteers' Week using the hashtag #TimeForImpact and #VolunteersWeek.Thank You & Closing Remarks:A massive thank you to our guests, Margaret Starkie and Dominic Pinkney, for sharing their invaluable insights and passion.To Nicola Gower for organising.To Volunteer Scotland, Volunteer Now, NCVO and WCVA for organising Volunteers Week year after year through the UKVF.Thank you to our listeners for tuning in to this special Volunteers' Week episode of Time for Impact.Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for more inspiring conversations.Follow Us:www.TimeforImpact.co.uk and on our linked in pageVolunteer Scotland: https://www.volunteerscotland.net/ Works4U: https://www.works-4u.com/and of course Volunteers' Week: https://volunteersweek.org/Time for Impact provide a wide range of consultancy, learning and impact analysis services to the volunteering world. Please get in touch, we'd love to be of assistance.

Join us for a fascinating conversation with Nicky Golding and Rachelle Lazarus from the Jewish Volunteering Network (JVN) as we delve into the deep-rooted ethos and contemporary approaches to volunteering within Jewish communities. We explore the unique values that drive their commitment to service, alongside practical strategies for reward and recognition, fostering crucial connections between organisations and communities, and shaping modern thinking in the world of volunteerism. Nicky and Rachelle also highlight the indispensable role and tremendous value of Volunteer Experience Managers in creating meaningful and impactful opportunities.Key Discussion Points:The Jewish Ethos of Volunteering: Discover the core principles and historical context that underpin the strong tradition of volunteering within Jewish communities. What are the key values that inspire this dedication to service?Reward and Recognition in Volunteering: How does the JVN approach the crucial aspects of acknowledging and appreciating the contributions of volunteers? What innovative strategies can organisations adopt to make volunteers feel valued?Building Bridges: Connecting Organisations and Communities: Explore successful models and strategies for creating strong and sustainable links between volunteering organisations and the diverse communities they serve. How can these connections be mutually beneficial?Shaping Modern Volunteerism: Nicky and Rachelle share their insights on how the JVN is influencing contemporary thinking in the volunteer sector, including adapting to modern challenges and opportunities.Biographies:Nicky has been the Chief Executive of JVN since January 2019. She has worked professionally in the Jewish community for over 40 years in leadership, volunteering and community development, family education, HR, youth and student work, engaging volunteers in each role.She has volunteered throughout her life, particularly at Bushey United Synagogue for 30 years, as well as co-leading Shabbat and festival services on Jewish Care’s Sandringham campus.Nicky is a member of the Executive of the Alliance of Jewish Women and their Organisations (AJWO) and is a trustee of the Alan and Sheila Diamond Charitable Trust.She has an MA in Jewish Communal Service from the Hornstein Program at Brandeis University, Boston, USA (1992) as well as being a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (FCIPD). In 2020-21, Nicky participated in the first UK cohort of The Growth Project, a leadership programme for charity and business leaders and she was one of the first cohort of Sacks Scholars(2023-24).Rachelle Lazarus Charity Engagement and Volunteer ManagerRachelle brings extensive experience and passion for volunteering to the role, having worked throughout her 30-year career in community work. Rachelle began volunteering in Leeds, where she ran Jewish Youth Voluntary Services. From there, she worked in Los Angeles at the Survivors’ of the Shoah Visual History Foundation early in its inception where she devised and built their volunteer programme before moving to the Museum of Tolerance to manage their volunteers.  After she moved to London, she began working at Jewish Care, managing several of their services, working with the Survivor and refugee communities, developing social, cultural, therapeutic and educational programmes. Rachelle was also involved with the establishment of Yom HaShoah UK, and sits on the council of her Synagogue.  There she extends her support to families with young children as well  as an inclusion programme for individual living with dementia.Links & Resources:Jewish Volunteering Network Website: https://www.jvn.org.uk/ Time for Impact : www.timeforimpact.co.ukKeywords: Volunteering, Jewish Volunteering Network, Community, Reward, Recognition, Volunteer Management, Volunteer Experience, Community Engagement, Nonprofit, Social Impact, Volunteer Marketing.

Volunteer leaders, get ready for some inspiring and reassuring insights into volunteering from Ed, a charity CEO who's been around the block. With a long and impressive history leading volunteer-driven organisations, notably Riding for the Disabled and now Dogs for Good, Ed's got a wealth of knowledge to share.This episode offers some valuable lessons for the sector, as we chat with Ed about crucial things like the strategic importance of putting resources into volunteer management, ways to properly understand and measure the real value of volunteering, the essential partnership between staff and volunteers, the often-overlooked transactional side of volunteering, and the power of getting everyone involved. We also mention some significant research on volunteering done at RDA (you can have a look here: https://rda.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Benefits-of-RDA-Volunteering-1.pdf).Discover more about the fantastic work of Dogs for Good: https://www.dogsforgood.org/ and have a peek at what we do at Time for Impact: www.timeforimpact.co.uk.If you found this episode insightful, please follow/subscribe for more good stuff and tell at least one other person to have a listen!Like any creative endeavour, bringing the podcast to life involves real costs in production, editing, planning, and execution. As a small charity consultancy, our primary income comes from providing paid advice and training, allowing us to freely share our hard-earned expertise and insights through this podcast and our blog. We believe deeply in empowering the charity sector's success.If you find the Time for Impact Podcast valuable and wish to fuel future inspiring conversations and ideas, please consider a small, entirely voluntary contribution of £4 through our Buy Me a Coffee account:                     ⁠buymeacoffee.com/chriswadetfi ⁠ . Your generosity, however small, directly supports our ability to continue producing this resource for the sector. Thank you for being part of our community. 🙏

Our 20th Episode is a sensational conversation with a real trailblazer in youth volunteering. Stephen Greene was at the visionary forefront of the National Citizen Service in the UK and is the founder and CEO of the groundbreaking RockCorps.Stephen tells us the story and vision behind both RockCorps and NCS. He shares some of his secrets of building the youth citizenship muscle. He tells us the extraordinary story of the shaping of NCS from former Prime Minster David Cameron's Big Society to a scheme that impacted 1 in 6 young people in the UK.He talks about the importance of ditching bureaucracy from youth volunteering offers; and upon the recently announced demise of NCS, we discuss why it is essential that the new government has a youth citizenship and volunteering strategy. To read more about RockCorps go to https://www.rockcorps.com/For info on NCS try https://wearencs.com/To hear more about Time for Impact and to contact us, go to www.TimeForImpact.co.ukLike any creative endeavour, bringing the podcast to life involves real costs in production, editing, planning, and execution. As a small charity consultancy, our primary income comes from providing paid advice and training, allowing us to freely share our hard-earned expertise and insights through this podcast and our blog. We believe deeply in empowering the charity sector's success.If you find the Time for Impact Podcast valuable and wish to fuel future inspiring conversations and ideas, please consider a small, entirely voluntary contribution of £4 through our Buy Me a Coffee account:                     ⁠buymeacoffee.com/chriswadetfi ⁠ . Your generosity, however small, directly supports our ability to continue producing this resource for the sector. Thank you for being part of our community. 🙏

This week's episode features Mark Lever, former CEO of three leading charities: Helpforce, Royal Voluntary Service, and the National Autistic Society. Mark brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of the volunteer landscape. Our conversation delves into the crucial topic of demonstrating and maximising the impact of volunteering—a core focus of Time for Impact. We also discuss the power of local community action and the vital role of grassroots volunteering. Mark's thoughtful insights offer valuable lessons for anyone involved in or interested in the world of volunteering. Learn more about the organizations Mark has led: Helpforce:https://helpforce.community/ Royal Voluntary Service:https://www.royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk/ National Autistic Society:https://www.autism.org.uk/Tune in for this engaging and informative discussion!Like any creative endeavour, bringing the podcast to life involves real costs in production, editing, planning, and execution. As a small charity consultancy, our primary income comes from providing paid advice and training, allowing us to freely share our hard-earned expertise and insights through this podcast and our blog. We believe deeply in empowering the charity sector's success.If you find the Time for Impact Podcast valuable and wish to fuel future inspiring conversations and ideas, please consider a small, entirely voluntary contribution of £4 through our Buy Me a Coffee account:                     buymeacoffee.com/chriswadetfi  . Your generosity, however small, directly supports our ability to continue producing this resource for the sector. Thank you for being part of our community. 🙏

We hope you enjoy our discussion on volunteering in Northern Ireland, volunteering Infrastructure and the international volunteerism profession as much as we did.We discussed the role of community sport and faith in volunteering, the role of infrastructure in boosting the profession, and the centrality of volunteerism in citizenship, democracy and the civic fabric. We discussed the changes in volunteering behaviour and the link between flexibility and inclusion.Do check out the great range of insightful research papers on the Volunteer Now websitehttps://www.volunteernow.co.uk/publication-category/research/We also referred to the latest household survey data on volunteering in Northern Ireland and some recovery since Covid. https://datavis.nisra.gov.uk/communities/experience-of-volunteering-by-adults-in-northern-ireland-202324.html#Definitions__technical_notesLike any creative endeavour, bringing the podcast to life involves real costs in production, editing, planning, and execution. As a small charity consultancy, our primary income comes from providing paid advice and training, allowing us to freely share our hard-earned expertise and insights through this podcast and our blog. We believe deeply in empowering the charity sector's success.If you find the Time for Impact Podcast valuable and wish to fuel future inspiring conversations and ideas, please consider a small, entirely voluntary contribution of £4 through our Buy Me a Coffee account:                     ⁠buymeacoffee.com/chriswadetfi ⁠ . Your generosity, however small, directly supports our ability to continue producing this resource for the sector. Thank you for being part of our community. 🙏

We were delighted to be joined on the Time For Impact Podcast by Michael Phillips, Head of Volunteering at the great homelessness charity Crisis.Crisis have some really exciting and truly ambitious plans to work in collaboration with the communities in which homelessness exists, with business, government and other charities to end homelessness in the UK.They recognise that they cannot do it alone as an organisation nor as a staff body and that they need to be the convenors of a coalition of people united behind this shared purpose.You can read more about their strategy here https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/plan-to-end-homelessness/More information on volunteering at Crisis can be found here https://www.crisis.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer/In the midst of the discussion we reference the ‘Time to Change’ - you can read about them here https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/about-usWe mentioned the social media backlash to supermarkets selling Halloween costumes that stigmatise people with mental health issues. You can read more about that here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24278768#:~:text=Supermarket%20chains%20Tesco%20and%20Asda,its%20%22psycho%20ward%22%20outfitAs always we hope you enjoy the podcast. Please do follow us wherever you get your podcasts. If you like what you hear, please give us a nice rating, and tell your colleagues about our show. We would really appreciate that.We are always interested in ideas for future guests or subjects so do contact us via www.TimeForImpact.co.uk with suggestions and feedback.And remember Time for Impact can always help you with your strategic volunteer thinking and demonstrating the impact of volunteering. We’d love to hear from you.Like any creative endeavour, bringing the podcast to life involves real costs in production, editing, planning, and execution. As a small charity consultancy, our primary income comes from providing paid advice and training, allowing us to freely share our hard-earned expertise and insights through this podcast and our blog. We believe deeply in empowering the charity sector's success.If you find the Time for Impact Podcast valuable and wish to fuel future inspiring conversations and ideas, please consider a small, entirely voluntary contribution of £4 through our Buy Me a Coffee account:                     ⁠buymeacoffee.com/chriswadetfi ⁠ . Your generosity, however small, directly supports our ability to continue producing this resource for the sector. Thank you for being part of our community. 🙏

In this episode of the Time for Impact podcast Chris and Matt discuss the newly released ‘Digital in Volunteering Toolkit’ with Gethyn Williams.The new toolkit is a useful tool for new and experienced volunteering professionals alike and completely free. So we think it is precisely the kind of innovation that fellow professionals may wish to hear more about. In our usual style of course, we delve beyond the immediate practicality of the toolkit itself and muse upon future needs and developments. We hope you enjoy the discussion!Read more about the Toolkit:https://teamkinetic.co.uk/blog/2024/12/digital-in-volunteering-toolkit-launch/Watch the Digital in Volunteering launch back in full: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtTzfH_W6kgDownload the Toolkit and join the Community of Practice: https://volunteermanagers.org.uk/resources/uncategorized/digital-in-volunteering-toolkit/?utm_source=teamkinetic&utm_medium=blogLike any creative endeavour, bringing the podcast to life involves real costs in production, editing, planning, and execution. As a small charity consultancy, our primary income comes from providing paid advice and training, allowing us to freely share our hard-earned expertise and insights through this podcast and our blog. We believe deeply in empowering the charity sector's success.If you find the Time for Impact Podcast valuable and wish to fuel future inspiring conversations and ideas, please consider a small, entirely voluntary contribution of £4 through our Buy Me a Coffee account:                     buymeacoffee.com/chriswadetfi  . Your generosity, however small, directly supports our ability to continue producing this resource for the sector. Thank you for being part of our community. 🙏

On Friday 15th November 2024, Chris Wade, Helen Timbrell and Rob Jackson held a unique event kindly hosted by the National Trust at their HQ in Swindon.The event, started to address the long evolving trend of volunteering functions being housed in combined People functions of HR and Volunteering professionals.We felt that the sector discussion on this is long-overdue. HR professionals are increasingly asked to take on such leadership roles or work in combined teams, often without much in the way of support or preparation, and less still in terms of helping exploring the many possible options for integration.This sometimes leads to disgruntled volunteering and HR teams jockeying for space and influence, and sometimes difficult change programmes without an understanding of the benefits and challenges of volunteering.Our approach was and remains to provide a supportive environment to help HR professionals gain insight into some of the challenges, context and skillsets needs related to developing volunteering. We recognised that there are many and varied ways of exploring the benefits or otherwise of integration, and we felt that this could be the beginning of building a supportive network to help people professionals on this potentially new journey. We feel that such a supportive environment will help HR and volunteer professionals alike and ultimately our volunteers and our causes too.So, in this podcast, able chaired by Matt, Rob, Helen and Chris explore reflections on the day, implications for the sector and possible next steps on this journey.I hope you find the discussion stimulating. Please leave your thoughts in the comments or contact us direct at podcast@TimeForImpact.co.uk . We are sure this debate will continue.Chris WadeIn the podcast we reference Rob and Helen's 2023 podcast conversation on Advancing the Profession. You can access that here....https://open.spotify.com/episode/3K76Eh90TYEg4mGXwxffvC?si=XwrVEyCwQtybDW0vJXSg3ghttps://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/season-2-episode-4-helen-timbrell/id1556641117?i=1000606011872There is mention of my article on curating volunteer experiences that you access here....https://www.timeforimpact.co.uk/blogs/our-blogs/dont-manage-curateLike any creative endeavour, bringing the podcast to life involves real costs in production, editing, planning, and execution. As a small charity consultancy, our primary income comes from providing paid advice and training, allowing us to freely share our hard-earned expertise and insights through this podcast and our blog. We believe deeply in empowering the charity sector's success.If you find the Time for Impact Podcast valuable and wish to fuel future inspiring conversations and ideas, please consider a small, entirely voluntary contribution of £4 through our Buy Me a Coffee account:                     ⁠buymeacoffee.com/chriswadetfi ⁠ . Your generosity, however small, directly supports our ability to continue producing this resource for the sector. Thank you for being part of our community. 🙏

Both Matt and I are big fans of Parkrun; not just the running but the volunteering too. We've long been impressed at their simple yet efficient, well organised and inclusive volunteering happens with a relatively small staffing body.To get the inside track on how Parkrun grew from a small local running event to a global phenomena this is essential listening. You will learn about how volunteering grew as an integral part of Parkrun, and about the culture and values that drive this amazing organisation.The aim of this podcast series is to capture and share interesting activity across volunteering; so that we can all learn and constantly improve our practice. This episode is a great example of that.If you'd like Time for Impact to help you review, develop or improve your volunteering practice and strategy, or help you demonstrate the value and impact your volunteers deliver please do reach out to us via our www.TimeForImpact.co.uk and we can offer a range of consulting, mentoring and learning solutions.Like any creative endeavour, bringing the podcast to life involves real costs in production, editing, planning, and execution. As a small charity consultancy, our primary income comes from providing paid advice and training, allowing us to freely share our hard-earned expertise and insights through this podcast and our blog. We believe deeply in empowering the charity sector's success.If you find the Time for Impact Podcast valuable and wish to fuel future inspiring conversations and ideas, please consider a small, entirely voluntary contribution of £4 through our Buy Me a Coffee account:                     buymeacoffee.com/chriswadetfi  . Your generosity, however small, directly supports our ability to continue producing this resource for the sector. Thank you for being part of our community. 🙏Chris Wade

For those exploring corporate or employee volunteering this is a must-listen episode.Kishma is responsible for employee volunteering across Wellcome, one of the richest charities in the world, and a significant employer in the UK.Wellcome's ethos and culture means that they see employee volunteering as a key ingredient of staff wellbeing.Tune in to hear a perspective from an employer, about what we need to do to partner effectively with them to build successful partnership between our causes and their employees.In the episode Matt quotes some statistics about skills based volunteering. These comes from https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesnonprofitcouncil/2024/03/06/volunteering-a-proven-way-to-improve-employee-well-being/To read more about Wellcome go to https://wellcome.org/ Enjoy the episode.Like any creative endeavour, bringing the podcast to life involves real costs in production, editing, planning, and execution. As a small charity consultancy, our primary income comes from providing paid advice and training, allowing us to freely share our hard-earned expertise and insights through this podcast and our blog. We believe deeply in empowering the charity sector's success.If you find the Time for Impact Podcast valuable and wish to fuel future inspiring conversations and ideas, please consider a small, entirely voluntary contribution of £4 through our Buy Me a Coffee account:                     buymeacoffee.com/chriswadetfi  . Your generosity, however small, directly supports our ability to continue producing this resource for the sector. Thank you for being part of our community. 🙏

Janet Thorne CEO of Reach Volunteering joined Chris and Matt to discuss how Reach Volunteering has had enormous success recently in recruiting volunteers where others have struggled. We discuss their citizenship focussed approach to recruitment and involvement.We really encourage you to read Reach and Janet's writing on these subjects. Links provided below.#ChangeTheStory campaign https://reachvolunteering.org.uk/changethestory#ChangeTheStory bloghttps://reachvolunteering.org.uk/blog/let-s-change-story#VolunteerForClimatehttps://reachvolunteering.org.uk/volunteer-for-climatePlease also do take a look at our own website and see the range of work we provide beyond this podcast. https://www.timeforimpact.co.uk/We always welcome feedback on the podcast and are seeking ideas of guests that we should interview. Please get in touch via the website.Don't forget to follow to ensure you never miss an episode.Like any creative endeavour, bringing the podcast to life involves real costs in production, editing, planning, and execution. As a small charity consultancy, our primary income comes from providing paid advice and training, allowing us to freely share our hard-earned expertise and insights through this podcast and our blog. We believe deeply in empowering the charity sector's success.If you find the Time for Impact Podcast valuable and wish to fuel future inspiring conversations and ideas, please consider a small, entirely voluntary contribution of £4 through our Buy Me a Coffee account:                     buymeacoffee.com/chriswadetfi  . Your generosity, however small, directly supports our ability to continue producing this resource for the sector. Thank you for being part of our community. 🙏

Matt Cobble and Chris Wade speak with Maddy Mills from the Family Volunteering Club. https://www.familyvolunteeringclub.co.uk/aboutWe discuss;Why there are so few family volunteering opportunities / the missed opportunity.How to make volunteering more child and family friendlyThe importance of building a habit of volunteeringVolunteering building link with local communities.How to make volunteering safe but managing rather than avoiding risk.Demonstrating impact.Creating fabulous volunteering experiencesand above all the joy of family volunteeringOn a completely different note.......Rob Jackson, Helen Timbrell and Chris Wade are planning a great event for HR professionals who are increasingly taking on responsibility for volunteering.Realising Potential: Collaboration and Integration in  HR and VolunteeringA one day event for HR professionals working in People functions with integrated approaches to HR and volunteering.Are you new to working alongside or with volunteering professionals?Has your organisation merged HR and volunteering and you’re exploring how to make the most of this new structure?Is your organisation considering this as an option and you’re keen to learn from others?Are you simply volunteering curious?Do you want to learn from others working in the same context?Join us for an interactive, supportive and collaborative day to share experiences and best practices and build new connections.9.30am - 4.30pm, Friday November 15 2024National Trust, SwindonTo express an interest email Helen@HelenTimbrell.comPlease do pass the news to your HR colleagues and your CEO.Like any creative endeavour, bringing the podcast to life involves real costs in production, editing, planning, and execution. As a small charity consultancy, our primary income comes from providing paid advice and training, allowing us to freely share our hard-earned expertise and insights through this podcast and our blog. We believe deeply in empowering the charity sector's success.If you find the Time for Impact Podcast valuable and wish to fuel future inspiring conversations and ideas, please consider a small, entirely voluntary contribution of £4 through our Buy Me a Coffee account:                     ⁠buymeacoffee.com/chriswadetfi ⁠ . Your generosity, however small, directly supports our ability to continue producing this resource for the sector. Thank you for being part of our community. 🙏

We hope you enjoyed part one of our student volunteering special with David Coles, from the LSE?Well, here is part 2.Enjoy!As always do get in touch with us via our website to suggest future guests and tell us what you thought of the episode. www.TimeForImpact.co.ukLike any creative endeavour, bringing the podcast to life involves real costs in production, editing, planning, and execution. As a small charity consultancy, our primary income comes from providing paid advice and training, allowing us to freely share our hard-earned expertise and insights through this podcast and our blog. We believe deeply in empowering the charity sector's success.If you find the Time for Impact Podcast valuable and wish to fuel future inspiring conversations and ideas, please consider a small, entirely voluntary contribution of £4 through our Buy Me a Coffee account:                     ⁠buymeacoffee.com/chriswadetfi ⁠ . Your generosity, however small, directly supports our ability to continue producing this resource for the sector. Thank you for being part of our community. 🙏