Co-ordinating volunteer efforts in Tipperary
Tipperary Volunteer Centre has urged local organisations seeing an increased demand for their services to contact them for support in recruiting volunteers. Funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development, who are overseeing the community response to the needs of vulnerable people during this emergency, as a registered charity they are refocusing their priorities and resources to help organisations and volunteers respond effectively.
According to Derek Fanning, Tipperary Volunteer Centre Manager: “As a trusted and experienced source of information, Tipperary Volunteer Centre has always provided support to organisations when it comes to recruiting and managing volunteers. In response to the COVID-19 emergency, we are increasing and prioritising this support for organisations on the front line helping the most vulnerable members of our communities. We are encouraging any organisations that need support with volunteers to contact us. Whether they are registered with us or not, we will be there to support any community group or not for profit organisation that needs it.”
On the outpouring of support from the people of Tipperary, Derek Fanning added: “We have seen a huge increase in those offering to help during this time. In the last 10 days, hundreds of people from across the county have registered on our database to indicate they want to help with the response to COVID-19. To them we say thank you and bear with us. This is a marathon not a sprint and while you might not be called on today or tomorrow, knowing you are there to support organisations when they need it is vital.
“For organisations that need the support of volunteers, we have seen a big increase in those offering to help during this emergency. As the experts in volunteering locally, we can connect you with volunteers and provide specialist support and guidance.”
FURTHER DETAILS
Organisations that need support should email response@volunteertipperary.ie and those who want to offer their help can sign up on www.i-vol.ie to register their interest in volunteering for COVID-19