Volunteering
Passing on the Baton
CSSC is incredibly lucky to have such dedicated and committed volunteers spread across all levels of the organisation. Often, CSSC volunteers stay in post for many years, providing much appreciated continuity within their areas, however, we understand that there will always be a time when a volunteer feels ready to move on. With this in mind, the Volunteer Team at CSSC has been working on a new project, aimed at improving support levels and options for volunteers when they wish to leave their role.
This new “succession planning” project is exploring a number of ways in which volunteers can move on from their current role within CSSC, safe in the knowledge that their legacy will be protected going forward.
- We are exploring a mentoring programme, which aims to bring current, experienced volunteers together with new volunteers. The programme will provide an opportunity for volunteers with a wealth of knowledge to pass that onto new volunteers, supporting them with enquiries and helping them gain a good understanding of each role within the organisation. Essentially, they will be inspiring the next generation of the CSSC Purple Army.
- Linked to the mentoring programme, we are also exploring the possibility of creating a CSSC Volunteer Alumni Association. The Alumni would be made up of a network of retired CSSC volunteers, who no longer hold official position within their area, but can stay involved through providing advice and sharing memories. Some Alumni members may also be mentors in the mentoring programme.
- Our volunteers really are the gatekeepers of knowledge and our rich history of member engagement is held by our volunteers in their memories and experiences. We are therefore looking at ways in which we can retain this knowledge and preserve memories. Volunteer Historians or Volunteer Archivists is a role we are currently looking to develop and roll out, providing an opportunity for retired volunteers to stay in touch with CSSC and keep records of past and current achievements within their areas.
- The Volunteer Team also intend to hold annual checking in sessions with all of our volunteers, the purpose of which will be to create an open dialogue about a volunteers time with CSSC, what their achievements have been and what they hope to achieve/learn/develop during the year to come in post. By having these conversations regularly, we hope that volunteers will feel able to approach us if they feel they no longer wish to volunteer.
- The Passing on the Baton button on our website will also be available to all volunteers. This button will link volunteers to a page where they can express their thoughts on leaving their role and explore some of the other voluntary options within CSSC as well as elsewhere.
CSSC is extremely grateful for all of the work our volunteers do, they really are the heart of our organisation. We hope, that by recognising that voluntary roles are time limited and providing robust support mechanisms to volunteers wishing to move on, we can ensure that CSSC remains a dynamic organisation for members and a fantastic organisation to volunteer within.
