V4ALL - Volunteering for All

What is it?

V4All is the School's new organisationally endorsed and supported staff volunteering project, managed in partnership between the LSE Volunteer Centre and the LSE Staff Development Unit, which was launched on Thursday, 26 May 2005, as part of the School's Learning at Work Day celebrations.

Why do it?

V4All takes on board staff interest in undertaking volunteering and the School's sense of its potential impact and benefit as a rewards and development tool, and develops a generous policy entitlement of up to five working days per year for employees to take on agreed activities.

Key factors underpinning its introduction include:

· Requests from a number of staff over a period of time to invest in this kind of scheme
· Feedback from elsewhere that it can operate as a positive motivation and development tool, under which individuals and teams drive a number of benefits from undertaking volunteering, to include acquisition of new skills, access to new cultures and new ideas, and an enhanced sense of self/team worth and confidence
· Its provision of new opportunities for the School to engage with parts of London and the south east where it may not be the norm for many learners to study here, and where current brand awareness may be low
· A willingness to operate systematically and take the initiative during this current year of the volunteer
· Its contribution to our LSE rewards package, under which broadly defined and innovative staff learning and development opportunities operates as distinctive School benefits. Examples include the Learn for You Scheme for less well paid staff and access to performance coaching for managers via the LSE Coaching Academy

How does it work?

V4All draws upon the specific expertise of the LSE Volunteer Centre, which will provide primary information and advice for staff interested in undertaking volunteering. This will include help locating specific providers in the proximity of the School or advise on how to find opportunities in the applicant's local area.

The Staff Development Unit as primary architect of the broad and inclusive interpretation of staff learning and development at the School, will be primarily responsible for the promotion of the V4All brand and the co-ordination of the V4All Committee, which like the Learn for You Scheme, will benefit from the active support of our trade union learner representatives.

The V4All Committee will meet monthly to consider all staff applications and will provide timely feedback on all decisions made. It will also monitor the uptake and range of staff volunteering, and will report back to the School on progress made by way of an annual statement.

Who can volunteer?

For the reasons stated above the School is keen to encourage staff volunteering and has agreed that staff are entitled to up to five days per year to undertake such activity, all subject to negotiation and agreement with local line managers, on the basis that the operation of School services should not be compromised by staff participation in V4All.

It is anticipated that many staff will wish to extend their volunteering commitments beyond this base line, outside of working hours and partnership arrangements, under which staff combine work and own time involvement.

What volunteering can I do?

Volunteering takes place in a wide variety of organisational contexts and draws upon a huge range of skills. Some examples of volunteering activity include

· Sitting as a school governor or on the board of a public body
· Supporting a local charity
· Undertaking practical tasks, for example, delivering meals for the elderly or cleaning up neglected open land
· Spending time with a local school student helping to improve reading skills

The main focus of the project is individual staff, but applications are also invited from groups of staff looking to organise a project collectively, maybe as part of a team building activity.

How do I apply?

The School, whilst obviously keen to encourage volunteering must necessarily protect its brand and reputation, hence the need for all applications to be considered by the V4All Committee.

The School is prepared to consider all reasonable applications and ideas and will provide written feedback on every submission. It does however reserve the right to reject specific applications and will not support release for any specifically party political activity in any circumstances.

If you know what you want to do simply fill out our V4All application form, send it to the Staff Development Unit, and it will be considered at the next V4All meeting.

If you are not sure what you want to do or how to make a connection with groups and projects please don't hesitate to contact the Volunteer Centre.

For any queries please contact: volunteer@lse.ac.uk or staff.development@lse.ac.uk

Please click HERE for a flowchart on how it all works

Please click HERE for guidelines on the scheme

Please click HERE for Rights and Responsibilities

Please click HERE for the Application Form

Please click HERE for a list of what staff are doing.

Please send your volunteering applications, signed by your line manager, to the Staff Development Unit (W209). The V4All Committee meets once a month to look at all applications.

** To read a short article on a member of staff's personal experience of  volunteering with the Samaritans please click HERE

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