What leads people to get involved in their communities? What can we do to support our volunteers? How can volunteers help raise public awareness of Hearing Link’s services?
These were just a few of the questions which we wanted to ask our volunteers, as well as allowing volunteers the opportunity to meet with one another and reconnect with Hearing Link as an organisation, so on Friday, 10 June 2011 we held a consultation day in which 24 of our volunteers took part.
Following short presentations from Rebecca Snell (Volunteer Services Manager), Linda Sharkey (Scotland Director) and Lorraine Gailey (Chief Executive), the volunteers split into three discussion groups, facilitated by Linda, Lorraine and Mandy Reid from the Scottish Council on Deafness. Topics discussed:
- How Hearing Link can support its volunteers
- How volunteers can raise Hearing Link’s profile
- How we can all get involved in our communities to improve services for people living with acquired hearing loss
The consultation was followed by a celebratory meal to thank volunteers for their invaluable contribution to Hearing Link and the people we support. All volunteers were presented with certificates to acknowledge the contributions their work makes to Hearing Link.
Thanks to all who came along, we really appreciate your support and commitment. It was great to meet everyone, and we'll hopefully be running more such events in the very near future.