Volunteer Managers Network

The Volunteer Managers Network meets at The Dudson Centre on Tuesday 3 November, starting at 1:00pm. It's a networking session for people who recruit, coordinate, support or manage volunteers across Stoke-on-Trent, and it's free to attend.

The whole point is to get people together who do similar work in different organisations. If you spend your days dealing with volunteers, you're likely to run into the same kinds of hurdles as everyone else in the room. The session is a chance to connect with peers, talk through the challenges you're facing, share ideas that have worked for you, and pick up a few from others. It's less of a formal presentation and more of a space to swap notes with people who actually get what you do.

It's aimed at those working for charities, community groups and public sector organisations, but it's also for anyone who supports volunteers as part of their role, regardless of the sector. If you're the one making sure the volunteers are looked after and the roles are filled, you'll fit right in.

VAST Services runs the network, and they've been around since 1920, so they've seen a fair few changes in how volunteering works over the years. They frame volunteering as safe, accessible, inclusive and rewarding, which is the kind of thing that usually comes up when you're talking about how to get people involved and keep them on board. The session is free to attend, it kicks off at 1:00pm on Tuesday 3 November at The Dudson Centre in Stoke-on-Trent.