Values and vision
“Volunteer Dundee exists to involve more people more effectively in volunteering to help make Dundee a better place to live.”
Our vision is of a City which believes everyone of its people can contribute towards and benefit from making Dundee a better place to live; where volunteering is valued and recognised across all sectors as a force for change, and where everyone who wants to volunteer can do so readily. Volunteer Dundee supports volunteering that builds healthy, sustainable communities that respect the dignity of all people; helps tackle social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues and builds a more humane and just society.
Our definition of volunteering is the commitment of time and energy for the benefit of the community, undertaken by choice and without financial gain.
Our Values
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- We value Inclusiveness. Everyone has the right to volunteer and should be free to do.
- We value Diversity. Everyone in society, regardless of race, sex, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation, social background, formal qualifications or perceived success, has some passion, skill or talent that can make a difference to someone else’s life as well as his or her own.
- We value Freewill and Choice. Volunteering is an act of free choice. People choose to act in response to their own personal value and belief systems and there must be no form of compulsion or coercion. It follows that just as a person may decide to give time, he must also be able to refuse to do so.
- We value Reciprocity. Volunteering to help others is a two-way process. It is a shared experience in which helpers and those helped all benefit. People get more out than they put in. They offer their time, energy, skills and services without remuneration, but should benefit in other ways, such as the satisfaction of responding to needs, the acquisition of new skills and experience, making social contacts and personal enjoyment and fun.
- We value Empowerment. Volunteering empowers people to fulfil their potential and acquire new skills and knowledge, building their capacity and creativity to contribute to the health and vibrancy of their own communities.
- We value Impact. We believe that volunteering is a powerful driver of change – social, economic, cultural and environmental.
- We value Enabling. We are committed to motivating, inspiring and then enabling diverse groups of people to access volunteering opportunities.
- We value Partnership. We are committed to working in partnership with others in motivating people to volunteer.
Who are we?
We are a small, diverse, team who are all committed to providing support to people, volunteering and Dundee. We have been working in Dundee for 20 years and have recently moved out of our offices in the city centre to put ourselves in different community locations so that we can start new conversations, with new people and offer our services in new ways!
We are all driven by our knowledge and experience in people and volunteering; we know the difference that can be made when people get together and give their time. Whether it is for a one off event, or an on-going opportunity – we all have stories about the change that people have created.
In addition to supporting people to get involved in volunteering, and offering support to groups and organisations to offer volunteering opportunities, we also run our own projects with volunteers to make a difference in communities across Dundee. Visit the Our work page to find out more about what we do and how you can get involved.