Volunteering Vision Newsletter - 23 October 2026

Welcome to the latest edition of our Volunteering Vision newsletter.

Ahead of Trustees' Week, we encourage all member organisations seeking trustees to get in touch with us to add their roles through our Volunteer Centre.  Making sure your opportunities are visible will help us to support your organisation with promotion and awareness, especially during Trustees' Week. 

Would your organisation like to help support the develop of a county-wide picture that could help communities before, during or after an emergency?  Join the Hertfordshire VCFSE resilience register now! Further details below. 

Also in this edition, you'll find the latest sector news, practical support and resources for your organisation, upcoming training opportunities, and events to help you connect, learn and grow. We hope you find something valuable to support your work and the communities you serve.

Best wishes,

Kelly Wright
Voluntary Sector and Partnerships Manager

Formal volunteering in England has dropped from 27% of adults to 17% in a decade. Cost is a growing part of why, and most volunteers never say money is the reason they leave. They just stop coming. vHelp have looked at how the way charities pay expenses affects who stays and who quietly walks away.

The Charity Commission has released some guidance on safeguarding and protecting people for charities, volunteers and trustees. the article sets out the responsibilities of charities and trustees to protect anyone who comes into contact with their organisation from abuse, harm, exploitation, or mistreatment. It covers risk management, safeguarding policies and procedures, safer recruitment and DBS checks, protecting staff and volunteers, reporting and responding to concerns, and creating a culture where safeguarding is a priority. The guidance also outlines the need for regular review, training, and compliance with relevant legislation to ensure people are kept safe.

A concern has been raised about proposals to extend the Charity Commission’s powers not including stronger protections for women and LGBT people. This week, the government launched a 10-week consultation on strengthening the commission’s abilities to tackle extremist abuse of charities. However, the National Secular Society (NSS) has said that while the powers may enable the commission to challenge those encouraging violence against women or LGBT people “it won’t stop them promoting ideologies which motivate such violence”.

We have recently been contacted by a number of volunteers who are keen to give their time and support on Christmas Day. We are therefore looking to hear from charities, community groups, and other organisations that may require volunteers during the festive period.

If your organisation is planning any Christmas Day activities and could benefit from volunteer support, please get in touch. We are particularly interested in opportunities within St Albans, Hertsmere, Welwyn Hatfield, Broxbourne, and East Hertfordshire.

Community Help Hertfordshire and Communities 1st are developing a county-wide picture of the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations that could help communities before, during or after an emergency.

You do not need to be an emergency-response organisation to take part. Everyday services, local knowledge, trusted relationships, volunteers, buildings, transport, advice or simply being able to communicate quickly with the people you support can all be useful.

Being on the Register does not commit your organisation to respond. If help is needed, you will always be contacted to check whether you have the capacity and appropriate arrangements to support at that time.

Webinar: Global launch of the WHO Mega Map on Interventions and Programmes for Age-Friendly Environments: free virtual event will introduce a valuable new resource that brings together evidence across the WHO's eight age-friendly domains, helping policymakers, practitioners, researchers and age-friendly communities identify what works, spot evidence gaps, and support planning, implementation and investment for healthy ageing.

When: 5 November at 1pm

If you're a new or aspiring trustee, this one hour Teams course will equip you with essential knowledge about trusteeship. It covers the fundamental aspects of the role within a charity, highlighting the motivations and rewards that come with being a trustee. You'll learn why trusteeship is crucial to the charity sector and gain a realistic understanding of what serving on a board entails. This includes an overview of the responsibilities, challenges, and the significant impact you can have as a trustee.

Where: Online
When: 5 November 2026
Time: 10am - 11am

This session is free to attend.

Communities 1st will be hosting an Introduction to Volunteering session. This one hour Teams session is for potential volunteers wishing to take their first steps towards volunteering. The session will cover an understanding of volunteering and its roles, volunteering with benefits, researching volunteering roles and identifying skills. 

When: 24 November 2026
Location: Online
Time: 10:30am to 11:30am

This session is free to attend. 

Communities 1st are here to help you build on your volunteer engagement, retention, and recruitment. Starting with our free to members one-hour Introduction to Recruiting and Engaging Volunteers webinar.

This webinar will cover: understanding volunteer motivations, engaging volunteers, and offer tips on recruitment. It will also explain Let's Give and show you how to use the platform as a member of Communities 1st.

This session is free to attend

Join us to for a presentation by Dementia Friends Ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Society to learn more about dementia and the ways we can all help to improve the quality of life for those living with it. Please note this is a general information session and not a medical presentation and will last about 45 minutes. 

Where:  Online
When: 25 November 2026
Time: 12pm - 1pm

This session is free to attend

You are invited to attend the next quarterly networking breakfast for existing, new and enquiring member organisations.

Come along and enjoy light refreshments while making connections with other voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations. 

Find out about all the membership benefits available, including:

• Funding advice and support 
• Help with volunteer recruitment 
• Training and workshops 
• Share your initiatives and projects
• Discuss local priorities and current trends. 

Date: 11 November 2026
Time: 10am to 11:30am
Venue: St Albans

We look forward to welcoming you!

It's that time of year again!

Communities 1st is inviting all of our members to our Festive Get-Together.

It is a lovely opportunity at the end of each year for volunteers, members and people from behind the scenes to catch up, with a lovely hot drink and of course a mince pie!

It's also a great excuse to get your Christmas jumpers out of storage and show them off to others.

We would love the opportunity to get together as we head into the new year and we can't wait to see you there!

Upcoming events:

Hertsmere - 1 December 2026, 2pm to 4pm.

Broxbourne - 2 December 2026, 2pm to 4pm.

St Albans - 3 December 2026, 2pm to
4pm.

Welwyn Garden City & Hatfield - 7 December 2026, 2pm to 4pm.