winonwaste Funding, Latest News, volunteering

This Volunteers’ Week, Win on Waste announces funding boost for Volunteering Strategy

Dorset-based waste and recycling charity, Win on Waste, is excited to announce that they have been awarded £2,725 by Talbot Village Trust.

This grant will allow Win on Waste to employ one part-time member of staff to manage 60 volunteers, and develop a strategy to recruit more people to the team.

Win on Waste Business Manager, Stacey Woods, said ‘Aside from two members of staff, the rest of our work is run by our enthusiastic volunteer teams, and we’re thrilled to be able to have a dedicated member of staff to look after them.’

She continued ‘Although we have always been well supported by our volunteers, there is always room for people to come and work with us and, as volunteering across the sector is currently at quite a low level, we want to ensure we’re in the best place to meet people when they are looking for opportunities’.

Data from the National Council for Voluntary Organisation (NCVO) has highlighted a persistent decline in the numbers of people volunteering. This is due to many factors including the cost-of-living squeeze and a lack of interest in volunteering in some younger sections of the population.

With the help of this funding, Win on Waste is hoping to buck this trend.

“Talbot Village Trust is pleased to support Win on Waste in strengthening its volunteering capacity through this grant award. Volunteers are at the heart of many local organisations, and this project will help ensure they are properly supported, coordinated, and encouraged to continue making a positive difference in their communities,” said Caroline Cooban, Director of Giving at Talbot Village Trust, “and we are delighted that our funding will contribute to building a more resilient and sustainable volunteering model.”

About Win on Waste

Win on Waste has been empowering local people in the BCP and Dorset Council areas to responsibly recycle their household waste since 2013. Working across 12 areas of east Dorset, they collect a range of common household waste items, such as ink cartridges and used stamps and divert them from landfill towards charities and organisations that can use them for fundraising and projects. Over the past two years, they have been able to divert nearly 10 tonnes of waste.

About Talbot Village Trust

Talbot Village Trust is a Dorset-based grant-making charity supporting community and charitable organisations across Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, Purbeck, and East Dorset. Through its Small Grants and Capital Grants Programmes, the Trust funds projects that strengthen communities and improve quality of life across south-east Dorset.

winonwaste Dorset, Latest News, Session Info, volunteering

How to fit tiny bits of volunteering into your everyday life or have you heard about micro volunteering?

Image of a clock with activities.

Let’s be honest the idea of volunteering is great – the satisfaction of helping others and supporting a cause you care about  (and the endorphins can even give you a helper’s high) – but time is a big issue for most of us.  Fitting another thing into an already busy week can seem impossible so that’s why the idea of micro volunteering is such a good idea.  For lots of people committing to a day or half a day of volunteering a week just isn’t an option.

Micro volunteering is just what it sounds like a short burst of feel good volunteering.

Fortunately for you (and us) at Win on Waste our activities are ideal for people looking to do some good but in a limited time frame.

At the most if you volunteer for a full session you are looking at a maximum of 3 hours one Saturday a month, (assuming a 2 hour session with set up and tidy up) and not all sessions are 2 hours long.

However if this still a step too far for you at the minute – how about 30 mins – if you could come along at the end of a session you could help bag up and weigh items, or help set up at the beginning. 

Most of our sessions are in central locations so you could combine your volunteering with another Saturday morning chore or even something more fun! Whatever your Saturday plans we’ve got a session that will fit in.

For example, if you were helping at Poole – you could drop off your own collected items, help out for half an hour and meet a friend for lunch in The Spire café, or go on a thrifting session (I found the almost most perfect dress in a charity shop in Poole the other day – almost in that it was a size too small!)

Our Hamworthy, Kinson and Oakdale sessions are at the local library – you could pick up some new library books, drop off your own collected items and help out for half an hour (and if you don’t have a library card why not – free books what’s not to love?!)

If you need to do shopping on a Saturday morning then our Parkstone session is just in the right place, drop off your own collected items, help out for half an hour, then do your shopping.

Fancy a bit of lunch after then do you know how many restaurants and cafes there are near to our Southbourne session, no neither do we – there were too many to count! I’m not making any recommendations as I haven’t tried them all yet but I’m always up for a challenge. So how about but how about dropping off your own collected items, helping for half an hour, then taking a walk through Southbourne for a bit too eat!

Our Christchurch session is just off the High Street, so lots of options, but how about dropping off your own collected items, helping for half an hour, then taking a walk through the gardens and down to the Quay.

In Corfe Mullen – the session is on at St Nicholas’ Church, so you could drop off your own collected items, help for half an hour then enjoy a coffee (or similar) in the café – meet a friend or just take a book and give yourself a half hour break (GASP!)

If you need to get your steps in at our Lytchett Matravers session – you could off your own collected items, help for half an hour, then take a walk – the WI have some lovely ideas – you could start with a couple of laps of the rec and build up – there’s even one that’s over 13 miles (which may not be best for a Saturday lunchtime stroll!)