Dear Candidate,
I am delighted, as the outgoing Chair, to introduce you to some exciting opportunities at Royal Voluntary Service (RVS). We are looking for five new trustees, including my successor, to join our board of trustees from late November 2023.
If you have an interest in volunteering, you may already know us – our volunteers have been caring for those in need since 1938, supporting individuals and communities through times of war, social and economic stress and emergency.
Our founder, Stella, Lady Reading, was ahead of her time in recognising the power of volunteering and its ability to change lives for the better. RVS seeks to harness that power so that everyone has the opportunity to participate in an outstanding volunteering experience, breaking down barriers to volunteering and increasing its reach and impact. “Volunteering for All” is our watch word.
In response to the Covid 19 pandemic, we developed and delivered the concept of “micro-volunteering” working with NHS England and other partners. “Micro-volunteering” has enabled potential volunteers to be enrolled and allocated opportunities across England using a digital app. Over 400,000 volunteers in the NHS Responders programme provided support and care for people who were vulnerable or isolated during the pandemic, collecting shopping, delivering prescriptions and providing transport. Our volunteers continue to work alongside NHS staff in vaccination centres. We are now bringing our expertise to bear in an exciting expansion of NHS Responders into the social care arena.
Over the years, our roots in community participation have evolved. Our new online “Virtual Village Hall” brings traditional village hall activity into the home so that many more people can take part. Over 47,200 people engaged with Virtual Village Hall sessions in 2022, taking part in a wide range of activities, and during 2022 our volunteers supported 3,000 “Calls with Care”, taking time to chat with often isolated individuals.
Brought into sharp relief by the pandemic, wellbeing and mental health are high on our agenda. Our specially trained staff and volunteers currently support 40 dementia services and last year our Welfare Services provided emotional and practical support to more than 320,000 members of the armed forces living away from home. In hospitals throughout England, Scotland and Wales our volunteers continue to provide invaluable comfort to patients and relatives, through bedside trolley services and the provision of cafes and shops.
We are recruiting Trustees, due to natural rotation and also due to ill health and other personal reasons. RVS’s next Chair and new Trustees will be exceptional individuals with a clear understanding of the benefits that volunteering brings both to volunteers themselves and to those who engage with their services. My successor will be an experienced, values-driven and proven leader who thrives on collaborative ways of working. The other four new Trustees will bring to the table, variously, financial acumen, considerable experience of health and social care, digitisation and fundraising. The appointed candidates will benefit from experienced and friendly fellow Trustees already in post, a high-performing Chief Executive Officer, Catherine Johnstone, and a dedicated Leadership Team. I do hope that you can help RVS contribute to the development of a diverse and resilient civil society and volunteering sector by applying for one of these challenging opportunities.
Stephen Dunmore, OBE
Chair of Board of Trustees