Brick Lane Youth Development Association

Name of Organisation

Brick Lane Youth Development Association (Blyda)

Why did you decide to go for Investing in Volunteers?

·To identify strengths and weakness of the organisation against a recognised standard

·Improve funding opportunities

·To enhance the reputation of the organisation

·To improve the effectiveness of our work with volunteers in a structured way

·To sustain our existing volunteers motivation and enhance their experience of volunteering

·To encourage more people to volunteer

·To minimise any potential risk arising from volunteer involvement

What benefits have you found from working towards Investing in Volunteers?

·Increased awareness and knowledge of recognised standard thru out the organisation

·Volunteers feel more involved, valued and respected

·One standard process used for recruiting, selecting, training and retaining volunteers

·Clear understanding of volunteer roles

·Better use of volunteer skills

·External recognition of good practice

Tell us about your experience of the assessment process in your organisation.

Investing in Volunteers demonstrates real achievement measured against a rigorous national standard. Being an Investing in Volunteers organisation helps to attract volunteers, paid staff, and may also be looked upon favourably by funders as part of your commitment to high management standards.The help and support from the assessor and VCTH has been really useful.Getting all parties involved, communicating and meeting up did initially create some challenges, however we found creative ways of resolving these difficulties

5 Practical tips you would give another organisation working towards Investing in Volunteers

The whole experience/journey has been educational, enjoyable as well as challenging at times.I would recommend the accreditation to most organisations.