CoRe 2020 celebration concludes important year for community appreciation
Ahead of this year’s CoRe report, we shine a light on some of the key reflections which were shared at the 2020 celebration event by the amazing CoRe volunteers from both Macquarie Group and Slaughter and May. This year’s programme provided a unique experience for our nine community partners, 51 CoRe volunteers, and the programme management team alike. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we are delighted CoRe 2020 acted as a conduit for significant connections and understanding across sectors which seemed even more needed this year. Social impact and strong outcomes drive our skills-based volunteering programmes and this year’s CoRe was no different.
47 participants from this year’s programme joined the virtual celebration event. The volunteers were able to share with all of the community partners their appreciation of everything they’ve achieved this year for them as a CoRe volunteer team, as well the impact on their beneficiaries more broadly. Volunteers suggested the CoRe experience provided a real insight and understanding in regards to:
How important the charity’s work is to their beneficiaries, who have faced significant challenges this year;
Charity leaders having to play a number of roles at any given time, switching hats constantly;
The charity’s staff and volunteers put in a huge amount of time and effort to support their beneficiaries;
Each charity has a high level of responsibility for its beneficiaries but limited capacity;
Charities can be seen as small(er) businesses, with their financial management and sustainability being critical;
It is nothing but inspiring to see how the charities keep their operation running and deliver such amazing work in the community;
“Thank you for an amazing six months. It was great to work with you and an exciting learning process for all of the volunteers” (CoRe volunteer with FoodCycle)
At the celebration event we heard how purposeful the volunteers were in using their time to really understand their community partner and work out how they could help them most effectively during the six month programme. They achieved this by:
Being flexible and scheduling regular meetings at a time that suited the community partner;
Exploring and clarifying the organisation’s goals and desired outcomes collaboratively with the charity leads;
Putting themselves in the shoes of the organisation’s management team and trustees;
Joining virtual taster sessions to experience the organisation’s delivery from a beneficiary viewpoint;
The inability to meet face-to-face and visit the community partner centres provides an additional opportunity in the new year for volunteers to stay connected with their community partners. A number of invitations already having been made for lunches, activity launches, and post-Christmas events.
Look out for our full 2020 programme report which will detail the benefits to the nine participating community partners, the learning and development outcomes for the volunteers, and case studies bringing to life the CoRe experience.
If you would like to be part of CoRe and benefit from 12 years of CoRe programme development contact tom.browne@thebigalliance.org.uk
