A total number of 400 volunteers have been recruited in Malmö ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest in May 2013. The organisers are expecting over 40 delegations and up to 3000 journalists, as well as thousands of visitors from Sweden, Denmark and Europe to attend the events, that will take place over almost two weeks, culminating in the Eurovision Song Contest final in Malmö Arena on 18 May 2013.

The tourist bosses estimate that this will be the biggest event ever in Malmö City's history. Malmö City and Region Skåne (Scania) tourist bosses say they will be spending around 20 million Swedish Krone (ca. 2.3 million Euro) for various Eurovision related events. We have a habit of dressing up the city for our big events, says Malmö Tourist Director Johan Hermansson to Nytt från Öresund. We may even have a surprise lined up, he hints. He thinks that 20 million SEK is not a high price to pay to put Malmö and Skåne region on the map. How many of us knew anything about Baku this time last year, he asks.

Malmö City has also calculated, that the Eurovision Song Contest will be the biggest event ever hosted in the city. The whole event is expected to bring between 170 and 200 million Swedish Krone (19 to 23 million Euro) in revenue. The whole effect won't be clear until after the event. At the same time the whole region will want to benefit from having so many visitors, says PR chief Sara Brynskog from Tourism in Skåne. We have already received inquiries from foreign journalists, who want to write travel reports covering the whole region, she concludes. One important aspect of a successful big event like the Eurovision Song Contest is the input from volunteers.

In Malmö the organisers want to recruit 400 volunteers, that will be the personal hosts for the different delegations. They will all be helped in their own languages to find their way in Malmö within their tight schedules, says Project Manager Karin Karlsson to Nytt från Öresund. In return for their input the volunteers get access to the various events during Eurovision weeks. Malmö Arena is also going to be using their own army of volunteers during the events. 

Fingal Volunteer Centre are recruiting Über Volunteers (The Best Volunteers) for the upcoming Malahide’s Über Fest which takes place from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 May 2013.

Über Volunteers will be based inside the Festival Arena and will provide information to attendees on the location of facilities, toilets, food retailers etc. and will distribute information on upcoming events during the festival. This role will involve being mobile within the Festival Arena during the time slot listed.

Volunteers may operate in pairs or more and will be visible to attendees wearing Hi-Viz jackets. Über Volunteers will be provided with training before the event (which must be attended) and will attend an on-site orientation before they start volunteering.

Required Skills:
• Ability to convey information to a wide range of people
• Good communication skills
• Happy outgoing personality
• Ability to work in a fast paced environment
• Willingness to act as an Über Ambassador for the event

Refreshments will be provided on site to Über Volunteers and there will be an opportunity to get a free ticket to another element of event for those volunteers who successfully complete their shift.

Über Volunteers must be:
• Comfortable with talking to new people in a friendly manner
• Be positive, outgoing and friendly, love engaging with people
• Ability to relate well to others and work as part of a team
• An excellent communicator with good listening skills
• Supportive of Malahide’s Über Fest and its objectives
• Fluent in English 

Über Volunteers would preferably:
• Have email access – as this will be our primary form of communication in a limited timeframe
• Have internet access – in order to schedule your shifts online
• Speak other languages – can be helpful when talking to tourists
• Have similar event or voluntary experience

Time Commitment:
Über Volunteers are asked to contribute at minimum one shift per day, but you don’t need to attend all 3 days.

Orientation, training and support:
• Über Volunteers are required to attend training (delivered locally) to learn about the event, and the volunteer role they will carry out.
• On a Über Volunteer’s first shift they will be provided with a arena orientation
• Über Volunteers will receive contact and support and supervision from both the designated Event Staff and the Volunteer Manager (Fingal Volunteer Centre)

Designated Volunteer Manager
You will be directly supervised and responsible to the Volunteer Manager and the Team Leader on your shift. Fingal Volunteer Centre staff will in turn support the Event Team.

The Über Volunteer Programme is managed by Fingal Volunteer Centre for, and in conjunction with Fingal County Council.

Do you think you've got what it takes?
Register to volunteer now using our online application system (Volunteer2)

In the lead up to the CEV General Assembly, the CEV flag toured the network of 22 Volunteer Centres. View a montage of photos from of the CEV flag tour below.

Ahead of an international volunteering conference due to take place in Dublin this week, the European Volunteer Centre (CEV) flag visited Fingal County.

The European Volunteer Centre is the European network of nearly 100 national, regional and local Volunteer Centres and volunteer support agencies across Europe. In the lead up to the CEV General Assembly, the CEV flag toured the network of 22 Volunteer Centres. This is Ireland’s first time hosting the conference.

The General Assembly, which is being organised in cooperation with Volunteer Ireland, will take place in The Citi Building in Dublin on April 18th and 19th. The event will see 122 delegates from over 30 countries in attendance. The event will feature workshops and presentations on building capacity for employee volunteering. The Employee Volunteering European Network (EVEN) will be launched with the support of founding members: FASVOL, Fundacion Telefonica and Intel.

After this week’s event, the CEV flag will be passed to next year’s hosts, Bosnia and Herzegovina, who will host the General Assembly in Sarajevo in October 2013. Stuart Garland, Manager of Fingal Volunteer Centre said: “We are delighted to celebrate Ireland’s hosting of the CEV General Assembly this week. Employee volunteering is proving increasingly popular with Fingal employers. The General Assembly is an opportunity for Volunteer Centres across Europe to get together and share learnings on how best to create capacity for staff volunteering projects in the community and voluntary sector. We look forward to, what promises to be, a unique and inspiring event.”

Fingal Volunteer Centre was established in 2005 as one of the 22 volunteer centers now operating across Ireland. Fingal Volunteer Centre aims to ensure best practice in relation to volunteering in Fingal through its work with both voluntary organisations and volunteers. 

Fingal Volunteer Centre offers a matching service where volunteers can seek to fulfill their needs in line with a voluntary organisation.

Volunteer management training is facilitated in communities and all voluntary organisations are support to develop policies and procedures to effective mange the involvement of volunteers in their service. Fingal Volunteer Centre works continuously with Volunteer Centres Ireland on the national agenda and contributes to the development of quality standards, peer mentoring programmes and other policy development on an on-going basis. We now wish to recruit new volunteer members to expand our Board of Directors.

For more information please download our information pack and complete an application form.

Downloads
Download an information pack (Adobe pdf)
Download an application form (MS Word .doc)

The final, full version of the documentary on the Dublin Tall Ships Volunteers is now available on Youtube: The documentary was made by Moon Monkey Productions from Belfast who volunteered to produce the film (which is just under 30 mins). We're delighted with how it turned out and thanks once again to all our fantastic dedicated volunteers.

The Dublin Volunteer Centres are delighted to present our Volunteer Management Training courses for all volunteer centres in Dublin.  

In one place you can find a Volunteer Management Training course in Dublin throughout the year.

Central to any successful volunteer programme, big or small, is effective volunteer management. Whether you involve 1 or 1,000 volunteers, our volunteer management training programme will help you attract and select suitable volunteers, manage them effectively and provide a positive experience once they are in place.

Our four module volunteer management training is delivered in a hands- on, participative style. The course is delivered over 4 evenings, 2 full days or 4 half days. It is designed to provide you with a best practice volunteer management framework for involving volunteers in your organisation.

Fingal Volunteers made up the 3rd largest group of volunteers at this year's NYE Dublin 2013 event.  2013 got off to a wonderful start thanks to the New Year's Eve Festival in Dublin.

Volunteer Ireland were delighted to be involved in the celebration, recruiting and managing over 160 NYE Festival volunteers. Volunteers helped out at the 'Procession of Light' through Dublin's streets on the evening of December 31, marking the official start of The Gathering 2013. Volunteers were also on hand at the spectacular fireworks display and the 'Countdown Concert', helping the capital ring in 2013 in style.

All of the Volunteer Ireland team would like to thank the NYE Festival volunteers for their hard work and enthusiasm - Thanks so much to you all! Check out this great slideshow of photos of the NYE 2013 Volunteer Programme. Photography by Leah Carroll.

VOLUNTEERS CLOCK UP OVER 21,544 VOLUNTARY HOURS IN 2012

Make volunteering a new year’s resolution for 2013 – find a role near you at Fingal Volunteer Centre

Fingal Volunteer Centre today announced that over 480 new volunteers signed up with the Volunteer Centre in 2012, an increase of on 2011 levels. Volunteers registered with Fingal Volunteer Centre contributed an incredible 21,544 hours to their community in 2012. Applying the average industrial wage, this voluntary effort has an equivalent value of over €475,260

The most popular areas of interests for volunteers in 2012 were Health and Disability, Office and Animals. Of those who signed up to volunteer in 2012, 66% were female. 55% of newly registered volunteers had never volunteered before. Volunteers who sign up with Fingal Volunteer Centre are predominately young, over 25% of volunteers were aged between 16-25. 62% of volunteers were aged under 35.

Fingal Volunteer Centre is a member of Volunteer Ireland, the national volunteer development agency and a representative body for 22 Volunteer Centres. Volunteers registered with Volunteer Ireland and local Volunteer Centres across Ireland contributed an incredible 465,550 hours to their community in 2012 – voluntary effort with an equivalent value of over €10.2 million.

Stuart Garland, Manager of Fingal Volunteer Centre commented “We are thrilled to see a continued rise in the number of people volunteering in Fingal County Whilst 2012 was a challenging year for so many of us, it is heartening to see County Fingal residents remain as committed as ever to the local community, contributing an incredible 21,544 hours of voluntary effort last year.

Stuart continued “At Fingal Volunteer Centre, January is often a busy time, we see a peak in interest amongst those keen to volunteer for the New Year. Volunteering is a wonderful New Year’s resolution and now is an ideal time to give volunteering a go. Volunteering can be a great way of trying out something new, getting active and meeting new people. With over 350 volunteering opportunities currently available in Fingal there is a volunteering role to suit all interests and availability. Visit www.volunteerfingal.ie to find a volunteering opportunity near you.”

Focus Ireland operates a graduate recruitment programme, known internally as "The Community Service Volunteer Programme" (CSV). It is a 12 month long full time programme and offers the 14 sucessful candidates full training, experience working directly with the clients of Focus Ireland, professional supervision and a living allowance while you learn. This programme offers opportunities to college graduates to develop their skills and expertise in the area of social and community work. It is particularly suited to graduates of Social Science courses who are interested in gaining experience prior to returning to complete their masters in Social Care. The programme has been in operation for over 20 years.

The CSV programme runs from September to August every year.  Applicants should refer to the Focus Ireland Competency Framework document as the recruitment process is based around it. Full details are available on Focus Ireland website www.focusireland.ie.

The closing date for applications for the 2013/2014 programme is 15th February 2013.

Applications can be sent to Sara Barnes, HR Volunteer Co-ordinator, Focus Ireland, 9–12 High Street, Dublin 8. Alternatively you can email your application to  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. "> This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Check out this slideshow of photographs from our recent Fingal Volunteer Expo 2012 held in The Pavilions Shopping Centre, Swords.  Photography by our excellent volunteer Leah Carroll (www.leah-carroll.com)  Thanks to all our volunteers for their hard work on the day.

Would you like to form a relationship with a company and benefit from the work of a team of employee volunteers? Inspiration Days is an initiative of Volunteer Ireland that brings companies and not-for-profit groups together for 1-day volunteering projects. Volunteer Ireland can assist you with a free Inspiration Days consultation, to help identify your group volunteering opportunities and potential. If you are interested in learning more, or schedule a consultation, please contact Annemarie Ni Churreáin at. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. telephone (01) 636 9446

The Staff, Baord and Volunteers of Fingal Volunteer Centre came together over a number of days earlier this year to review progress on our last Strategic Development Plan and to make plans for a vision of Volunteering in Fingal County 2012 - 2014.  We are now delighted to present the final Strategic Development for what we hope will be a time of continuing grwoth and development of volunteering and volunteering supports in Fingal County.

Download - A vision for volunteering in Fingal County 2012 - 2014 (Adobe pdf)

The new Code of Governance for the Community and Voluntary Sector was launched yesterday.

The Code provides, for the first time, clear guidelines on the roles, duties and responsibilities of those who run community, voluntary or charitable organisations. The Code can be adopted by nonprofit organisations of all sizes – from small volunteer-led groups to large domestic and international charities.

Volunteer Ireland worked really hard, with the other members of the working group for the last two years on the development of the code as a member of the working group along with seven other charities, assisted by a number of experts in the field of governance.  As a working group member, Volunteer Ireland has received 1,500 printed copies of the code - if you'd like a opy please contact Fingal Volunteer Centre.  For more information on the code, visit www.governancecode.ie

Volunteer Ireland and Fingal Volunteer Centreis pleased to announce a new service that matches teams of company employees with not-for-profit groups for unique and meaningful community volunteer days. Company Volunteering is part of a growing culture of corporate social responsibility. It is supported by companies that actively encourage their employees to volunteer, taking a shared ownership community wellbeing and generating positive outcomes for the employer, employees and wider society.

Your not-for-profit group can benefit greatly from the experience of Company Volunteering because it can offer the increased opportunity to

• Promote awareness of community issues and needs.
• Raise the profile of your group’s activities and services. 
• Acquire new energy, ideas and enthusiasm for projects and tasks.
• Access professional skills, expertise and resources.
• Build valuable relationships and explore the potential for long-term partnerships.

Volunteer Ireland can work with your not-for-profit group to identify tailored opportunities for company employees, and to support you in the delivery, co-ordination and evaluation of quality day-long volunteer projects.

For more information about the service, please contact Volunteer Ireland’s Company Volunteering Coordinator at 18 Eustace Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2. (01) 636 9446  Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Check out these photo montages from some of our recent events and activites run during National Volunteering Week 2012 and in the run up to it.  A very big thank you to Leah Carroll [www.leah-carroll.com] for her excellent eye for a great photo opportunity.

The Dublin Volunteer Management Seminar which took place in Pearse Street Library, organised by the Dublin Volunteer Centres as part of National Volunteeing Week 2012.

Fingal Volunteer Expo took place in The Blanchardstown Centre and featured 14 organisations recruting volunteers and was also organised as part of our activites for National Volunteering Week 2012.

We recently delivered a Volunteer Management Training Course with Volunteer Ireland on behalf of Dublin City North Volunteer Centre to 13 organisations in the Irish Aid Volunteering Centre, O'Connell Street, Dublin 1.

In celebration of National Volunteering Week 2012, Baldoyle Family Resource Services were awarded the Fingal Managing Volunteer Awards Level 1 in Fingal County Council, County Hall, Swords on the 14th May.

Fingal Managing Volunteers is a joint initiative of the Fingal Volunteer Centre and Fingal County Council Community Division and awards organisations that put practices in place to ensure that volunteers are managed effectively.

Baldoyle Family Resource Services is a community based centre currently providing a range of family and community support services including such as Counselling; Information & Referral; Community Development Projects; Support Groups; Adult Education and Services for Older People. Many of their initiatives rely on the support of local volunteers and their involvement therefore is an integral part of the centre.

With the support of Fingal Volunteer Centre, the Resource Centre succeeded to meet the Fingal Managing Volunteer Level 1 criteria. Criteria included developing volunteering policy, training staff, developing volunteer job descriptions and recruitment procedures, training volunteers and valuing the contribution of volunteers to the project.

Baldoyle Family Resource Services were awarded the Fingal Managing Volunteer Certificate by Mayor of Fingal Cllr. Gerry McGuire and received an award of €150 towards volunteer supports.

CEV launched the “Volunteering Infrastructure in Europe” publication during the Spring 2012 General Assembly in Copenhagen (9 May).

The publication comprises details about the physical structures, support mechanisms, human resources, knowledge, research and sustainable funding, made available to support volunteers and volunteer organisations in 29 European countries.

“This publication intends to serve as a living resource documenting and recording the development of the volunteering infrastructure across Europe” remarked Eva Hambach, CEV President.

It includes a foreword by John Macdonald, Head of the Task Force for the European Year of Volunteering 2011- European Commission, and chapters on Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Collecting all the data was made possible by the expertise and availability of professionals in the volunteering sector, CEV members and partner organisations.

You can now access online and download the entire document.

CEV welcomes content contributions from new countries as well as comments and updates on the existing chapters via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

National Volunteering Week is a nation-wide event that is co-ordinated by Volunteer Ireland and 22 Volunteer Centres across Ireland. Last year’s national volunteering campaign saw more than 10,000 individuals take part in a host of hands on volunteering projects, flagship events and volunteer fairs across the country. Over 200 projects were registered last year. So go ahead, see how you can take part in this year’s National Volunteering Week

We are delighted to present our  2013 programme of supports to Volunteer Involving organisations based in Fingal.  You can download and print out our programme to ensure that you get the opportunity to avail of the wide variety of services from Fingal Volunteer Centre.  Why not put the dates in your diary now.

The programme is based on survey feedback we have recieved from our Volunteer Involving Organisations, which helped lay the basis of our programme for 2013.

We have a range of new activities and supports for 2013 as well:

• We have a new session Garda Vetting - Myths & Facts taking place on Thursday 21 February.
• With our colleagues in Dublin City North and Dubln City South Volunteer Centres we will be holding the ACTIVE Migrant Project Workshop and Expo on Thursday 28 February
• We have an exciting new Volunteer Expo taking place in Clarehall Shopping Centre which we are running jointly with our colleagues in Dublin City North Volunteer Centre on Thursday 16 May.
• and finally the European Volunteer Centre CEV General Assembly and Symposium takes place in Dublin City Centre on 18th / 19th April

We have all our usual Volunteer Management Trainings and Thinking of Involving Volunteers Sessions and we will of course be celebrating International Volunteer Day and International Volunteer Managers Day.

Please note some dates and venues are subject to slight change.  Please check our web site and e-zines for update.  We will be contacting Volunteering Involving Organisations in the run up to each event with details of how to register.

Download a the full list of support to Volunteer Involving Organisations now and check the date in yoru diary to ensure that you don't miss any of these events.

We are delighted to announce our Outreach Programme for 2013 operated by Fingal Volunteer Centre which is being launched as part of our enhanced services to volunteers.  
For 2013 Balbirggan, Blanchardstown and Swords will all be walk-in sessions and Baldoyle, Garristown, Howth, Malahide, Rush and Skerries will be appointment only (i.e.) You must make an appointment in advance.

The new 2013 Outreach Programme will see staff and volunteers from Fingal Volunteer Centre operate an outreach service from the following libraries each month:

• Balbriggan Library
• Baldoyle Library (Appointment Only)
• Blanchardstown Library
• Garristown Library (Appointment Only)
• Howth Library (Appointment Only)
• Malahide Library (Appointment Only)
• Rush Library (Appointment Only)
• Skerries Library (Appointment Only)
• Swords Library 

Download Outreach Programme for 2013 (adobe Pdf)

Please note for appointment Only session you must book a palce at least 24 hours in advance by telephoneing the Volunteer Centre (01) 820 9550 and you must confirm a time with a staff members.  We would like to thank the Fingal County Counci's Library Service and all the library staff in the Fingal Libraries for their support of this project.

Did you know that we have nearly twice as many volunteers as opportunities on our database of volunteer opportunities?

Fingal Volunteer Centre are involving in a mapping project over the next six months with a number of key stakeholders to indentify volunteer involving organisations across the county and to identify where gaps where there are limited numbers and types of volunteer opportunities. If you engage volunteers in your local organisation we want to hear from you.

We provide a wide range of supports and training to volunteer involving organisations across the county. Not only are we focusing on building the number of volunteer involving organisations on our database but we are also building the type of volunteers in each local area across Fingal.

For more information on our supports and to register your organisation and help build our database please visit “Register an Organisation" on our web site or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or more information on this project.