The Volunteer Development is dedicated to taking the Volunteering Department forward through research and consultative work within the community. This involves developing volunteering opportunities within the project to meet the needs and aspirations of potential volunteers from all backgrounds.

Consultation work which has been undertaken to date includes the creation of a 'Barriers' to Volunteering Report, which involved liasing with a variety of community groups to determine unknown issues which prevented various age groups in society from realising their potential through volunteering. The outcome of the consultation provided key information which will prove very useful for future volunteer recruitment strategies.

As a follow on, the next piece of work looks at sustaining volunteers for the long term. A plan which involves consultation with volunteers from a variety of different voluntary backgrounds, who in some cases have volunteered for over twenty years!

The objective is to gain insight into what keeps long term volunteers thriving and loyal to one organisation, so that we can ensure at CHAP that we shall continue to involve and utilise the skills and attributes of our volunteers in order to continue to optimise the service.