Border Collie Rescue - On Line - About Volunteering
Working with us - Volunteering with Border Collie Rescue
Border Collie Rescue
Keeping an "Eye" on the breed
By definition, a volunteer is a person who offers their time without receiving or expecting payment.
In our book this means a volunteer is not obliged to do anything asked of them and is at liberty to say 'no' if asked and it not penalised for saying 'no' within reasonable expectations of what volunteering is all about.
In short, if asked, say 'no' by all means but if you keep saying 'no', there is little point in being a volunteer!
Volunteers do need to be dependable and although not being paid do need to conduct themselves, and carry out the tasks they agree to do, in a professional manner with due respect for their colleagues and the public.
We are a dog rescue charity but one aspect of the work we do directly benefits the people we deal with.
We help dogs and we help people we take dogs from and people we place dogs with.
Volunteering
There are two ways to get involved
as a volunteer with Border Collie Rescue. Either as an Active
Member or as a Helper.
Active Membership
Active Membership is the most
formal arrangement.
Volunteers who join as active members need to sign an agreement between themselves and the charity in which they agree to keep information and data they are given confidential.
This is essential under data protection laws as much of the work they are likely to be involved in would require them having personal details about the charities clients and beneficiaries.
In signing up they agree that they support the objects of the charity and understand and accept that they are engaged as volunteers and that they will follow the rules, by-laws and policies of the charity and they will declare any conflicts of interest that exist or may arise.
They agree that any property they are issued with remains the property of the charity and will be returned on request and that they will behave in such a manner that does not bring the charity into disrepute.
It doesn't say they have to take on any task if asked, it does not say they have to work any minimum hours, in fact it does not say they HAVE to do anything at all.
Our view is that volunteers put in time as and when they choose and for as long as they choose and are in no way obliged to do anything they do not want to do and do not have to say why. All they need to say is, "sorry but I can't do that"!
Active members over a certain age are fully insured to drive any of the charities vehicles.
All are fully covered by our insurance and if they put in time and show dedication they could be appointed to a position as an officer of the charity and given authority according to their position, invited onto the management council in an advisory capacity for the balance of the year in which they were invited and they could be proposed and elected as a trustee.
Volunteers who join as active members need to sign an agreement between themselves and the charity in which they agree to keep information and data they are given confidential.
This is essential under data protection laws as much of the work they are likely to be involved in would require them having personal details about the charities clients and beneficiaries.
In signing up they agree that they support the objects of the charity and understand and accept that they are engaged as volunteers and that they will follow the rules, by-laws and policies of the charity and they will declare any conflicts of interest that exist or may arise.
They agree that any property they are issued with remains the property of the charity and will be returned on request and that they will behave in such a manner that does not bring the charity into disrepute.
It doesn't say they have to take on any task if asked, it does not say they have to work any minimum hours, in fact it does not say they HAVE to do anything at all.
Our view is that volunteers put in time as and when they choose and for as long as they choose and are in no way obliged to do anything they do not want to do and do not have to say why. All they need to say is, "sorry but I can't do that"!
Active members over a certain age are fully insured to drive any of the charities vehicles.
All are fully covered by our insurance and if they put in time and show dedication they could be appointed to a position as an officer of the charity and given authority according to their position, invited onto the management council in an advisory capacity for the balance of the year in which they were invited and they could be proposed and elected as a trustee.
Helpers
Helpers are volunteers who say they could help on certain things occasionally if they are available at the
time.
There is no formal agreement which means there are restrictions on what they can do.
Helpers cannot work on their own. They have to work under supervision of an Active Member.
There are certain jobs they could not carry out and certain information they could not be made privy to due to data protection laws, even though they would still be liable under these laws if they breached them.
From an insurance perspective they would be fully covered under our public and volunteers insurance but no other aspects of our insurance would apply.
They cannot become officers of the charity or have a seat on the management council but could be co-opted in an advisory capacity and attend meetings appropriate, but limited to, the purposes for which they have been appointed and only for as long as their advice is required. Under these circumstances they would need to sign a data protection agreement.
As a rule a helper cannot hold assets of the charity for any longer than it is necessary to fulfil the purpose for which they have been issued.
They do not have to take on any task if asked, they do not have to work any minimum hours, in fact they do not have to do anything at all.
The same applies - volunteers put in time as and when they choose and for as long as they choose and are in no way obliged to do anything they do not want to do and do not have to say why. All they need to say is, "sorry but I can't do that"!
For information on what sort of roles volunteers could be involved in and help Border Collie Rescue, please use the 'Ways to help' button in the left menu.
If you are interested in adopting a Border Collie from us,There is no formal agreement which means there are restrictions on what they can do.
Helpers cannot work on their own. They have to work under supervision of an Active Member.
There are certain jobs they could not carry out and certain information they could not be made privy to due to data protection laws, even though they would still be liable under these laws if they breached them.
From an insurance perspective they would be fully covered under our public and volunteers insurance but no other aspects of our insurance would apply.
They cannot become officers of the charity or have a seat on the management council but could be co-opted in an advisory capacity and attend meetings appropriate, but limited to, the purposes for which they have been appointed and only for as long as their advice is required. Under these circumstances they would need to sign a data protection agreement.
As a rule a helper cannot hold assets of the charity for any longer than it is necessary to fulfil the purpose for which they have been issued.
They do not have to take on any task if asked, they do not have to work any minimum hours, in fact they do not have to do anything at all.
The same applies - volunteers put in time as and when they choose and for as long as they choose and are in no way obliged to do anything they do not want to do and do not have to say why. All they need to say is, "sorry but I can't do that"!
For information on what sort of roles volunteers could be involved in and help Border Collie Rescue, please use the 'Ways to help' button in the left menu.
please do not write to us or email us - we want to speak to you before we start the process.
Please phone us during office hours. Details here.
Calls to our office and mobile will only be answered during our office hours