| Many voluntary organisations are calling
out for Welsh-speaking volunteers or staff. .
The National Trust recently made a special appeal for more Welsh-speaking
volunteers to enable it to provide more services and activities
in Welsh. If you would like to find out more, please visit the
BBC Wales website. www.
bbc.co.uk/cymru
Estyn Llaw can help your organisation to produce a recruitment
strategy aimed specifically at Welsh speakers. Does your organisation
advertise in Welsh? Does your organisation have a profile in the
Welsh press and media? Does your organisation attend Welsh events?
Contact us. Please let us know also if you would like to advertise
the work of your organisation on our website.
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For information about the Papurau Bro of every area
in Wales, please visit the following website; www.bbc.co.uk/cymru
For information about Welsh events in your area, please visit
the following websites: www.mentrau-iaith.com or www.bbc.co.uk/cymru
When seeking to attract Welsh speakers, every voluntary organisation
should realise that it is important for Welsh speakers to be able
to feel at ease within the organisation. In this respect, Estyn
Llaw can advise your organisation on the type of measures it could
take to meet the support needs of Welsh speakers.
By the way, providing volunteers or staff with an opportunity
to improve their Welsh reading, writing and oral skills is also
important, and Estyn Llaw has information about courses to help
you.
If you are interested in volunteering on a formal basis or in
working for a voluntary organisation, we can support you in using
your Welsh to increase bilingualism within the organisation. We
can also advise you on specific volunteering opportunities in Welsh,
either with organisations that work through the medium of Welsh
or with organisations that operate bilingually.
For further general information about volunteering, please visit
the Volunteering Wales website: ;www.gwirfoddoli-cymru.net.
SV Cymru (Community Service Volunteers) is extremely aware of
the importance of ensuring that a language choice exists within
the voluntary sector. It believes that operating bilingually within
the sector benefits everyone. According to Gwion Evans, CSV Welsh-medium
Volunteering Manager:
“Service users benefit from being able to choose between
languages, and charities or organisations benefit from being
able to broaden their appeal and thereby attract more volunteers
and from being able to raise their profile in areas and aspects
of the press which were previously unfamiliar to them.”
Even so, there is more to CSV Cymru’s commitment to bilingualism
than the concept of good practice and a language scheme which ensures
that a Welsh-language service is available.
The majority of CSV’s volunteering schemes deal with very
sensitive areas of work, for example those associated with homelessness,
youth justice and the care sector. It is essential that those who
benefit from the support of our volunteers are able to communicate
and express themselves fluently, and having bilingual volunteers
makes this possible as it enables people to speak Welsh should
they wish to do so.
CSV Cymru has a unique scheme which enables people to volunteer
on a full-time basis. Volunteers commit themselves to a period
of between 4 and 12 months, usually spent away from home. The nature
of the voluntary work can vary from mentoring young people who
are in danger of offending to supporting people in a hostel for
the homeless, supporting disabled people, giving disabled students
an opportunity to live independently at college and many other
opportunities. As well as accommodation, these volunteers are given
a weekly allowance of £64.50.
CSV works with thousands of bodies and organisations across the
UK including Social Services, Housing Associations, Youth Offending
Teams, charities within the care sector and many more.
CSV is currently developing bilingual volunteering opportunities
and is appealing for young people who are in search of a challenge
and who are eager to live independently and to help to make a difference
in communities throughout Wales.
For further information, please contact Gwion Evans – Welsh-medium
Volunteering Manager, CSV Cymru on 01792 301188 or e-mail gevans@csv.org.uk
Questionnaire
for Volunteers>>
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