Looking for volunteers?  Bury St Edmunds Volunteer Centre offers services to some 150 organisations in the voluntary, community and public sectors in the area. We can help groups that involve volunteers in the following ways:- Ø Advertise voluntary opportunities and recruit volunteers Ø Provide information, guidance and training in volunteer management Ø Provide groups of volunteers or individuals for short-term projects Ø Provide training for volunteers                      Advertising for volunteers We advertise in a variety of ways:- Ø Features in the weekly newspaper Ø Slots on local radio Ø Advertisements in our window Ø Advertisements in our newsletter Ø Distributing posters and leaflets Ø Holding displays and attending exhibitions Ø Partnership events Ø Annual events Ø On our own website Ø On the national volunteering database – www.do-it.org.uk                          Recruiting volunteers We offer a brokerage service to prospective volunteers which involves a confidential, informal interview to discuss their motivation, skills and availability. We guide them through the opportunities that are available, research for opportunities to fit needs, take up references and refer them on to the organisations they choose to investigate further. Volunteers can also register via the do-it website, or our own website and we will provide contact details via e-mail. We work with volunteers from all backgrounds and have supported volunteering projects for people with mental health problems and learning disabilities to enable them to access volunteering opportunities. We have ‘Admin Angels’ who are based at the Volunteer Centre who can carry out simple administrative tasks, such as mail shots for voluntary and community groups. If you need volunteers for a short-term project let us know. We can consult our database of volunteers who want to help in this way.               Guidance in volunteer management If you have not used volunteers before or simply want to improve your practices we can help with individual consultations or group training workshops. We have a resource library available at the Centre, for organisations to use. Suffolk Volunteering Federation  has VOICES (Volunteer Organisers Information and Communication  Exchange in Suffolk) which can help by providing a network information exchange,sharing good practice and ideas. For more information contact: Gill Robinson, Manager, Suffolk Volunteering Federation: gillrobinson@yahoo.com or visit the website: www.volunteeringsuffolk.org                                 How to register You will need to complete a simple Organisation Registration Form and an Opportunity Form for each volunteering role you have, or you can telephone or e-mail your requirements and we will look for suitable volunteers. Our service is confidential.