Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust has signed up to the Torbay Volunteer Management Charter, becoming the largest organisation to commit to the charter so far.
The charter was developed by Torbay Community Development Trust in consultation with 17 charities and community groups, and signatories pledge to a serious of commitments around recruiting and managing their volunteers in a positive and responsible way.
Mairead McAlinden, Chief Executive of Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, signed the charter last week, and said: “We are very fortunate to have such a large number of passionate and dedicated volunteers in our community who are our partners in care and really make a difference to the services our Trust provides. We want to publicly demonstrate our appreciation of the contribution of our volunteers and so we are delighted to sign up to the Torbay Volunteer Management Charter. It means the hundreds of volunteers who work across many different Trust services can be confident that we are an organisation that is committed to respecting, involving and supporting them.”
Volunteer Centre Torbay, which is part of Torbay Community Development Trust, hopes all groups working with volunteers in Torbay will eventually sign up to the charter. Peter Stokes, Capacity Building Manager at Torbay Community Development Trust, said: “The Torbay Volunteer Management Charter is a really positive development. As it was developed by the sector and for the sector, we are hoping groups involving volunteers in Torbay will feel proud to sign the charter. I’m hoping it becomes a bit of a movement or a members club where everyone is keen to join.
“We are thrilled that Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust has now signed up. As an organisation with the largest number of volunteers in the area, around 700, we are hoping that this will inspire organisations across the board to follow suit.”
For more information about the Volunteer Management Charter please contact Volunteer Centre Torbay on 01803 212638.
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