Article published in May 2025
Are you working with volunteers and looking to build your skills in a way that fits your busy schedule? We might have just the right training for you! Bring your lunch and your curiosity to our upcoming bite-size training sessions on volunteer management.
Galway City Community Network (GCCN), in collaboration with Galway Volunteer Centre, is excited to invite you to a series of three practical, lunchtime training workshops designed to help you manage volunteers effectively and confidently.
Led by the brilliant Helen Ogbu from Galway Volunteer Centre, each workshop is a one-hour, hands-on, participative session packed with expert tips and tools, perfect to enjoy with your lunch and a curious mind. Whether you are just getting started or simply need a refresher, this series is for you.
All sessions are online, free to attend, and open to anyone working with or supporting volunteers in Galway city.
Find all details below and don’t forget to let your colleagues know too!
Workshop 1
Finding & Keeping Volunteers
Wednesday, 14 May | 1-2pm | Zoom
Volunteers are the heart of many community organisations. Recruiting volunteers is just the beginning — keeping them engaged, supported, and motivated is where the real work begins.
This session is designed for anyone who works with volunteers and wants to improve their approach to building strong, long-term volunteer relationships.
What will you learn:
- Practice guidance and benchmarks to help organisations be clear on expectations and motivations of both their organisations and volunteers.
- How to attract volunteers through designing clear, inviting role descriptions.
- Screening volunteers – what’s needed?
- Managing the volunteer relationship, including recognition and resolving difficulties.
- Help with managing risk and safety in your work with volunteers to help improve the volunteer experience.
Workshop 2
Writing an Effective Volunteer Role Description
Wednesday, 21 May | 1-2pm | Zoom
A well written role description forms the basis of your recruitment process and enables you to manage your volunteers effectively – so that both you and they have a positive experience of their involvement with your organisation.
During this session you will look at your organisation’s volunteer role description and check whether it can be more effective in terms of enabling you to:
- Recruit volunteers in the first place.
- Ensure that they know exactly what is expected of them.
- Deal with any challenging behaviour once they have started volunteering with you.
Workshop 3
Support & Supervision of Volunteers
Thursday, 29 May | 1-2pm | Zoom
Support and supervision are key in retaining volunteers. But what does meaningful support look like in practice? How do you strike the right balance between oversight and autonomy?
Support and supervision go beyond checking in or giving instructions — they’re about building trust, fostering a sense of belonging, and helping volunteers thrive in their roles.
This session will take a close look at:
- The importance of supporting our volunteers.
- The principles of volunteer support.
- The difference between Support and Supervision.
- Different ways of supporting our volunteers.
Attendance to all three workshops is highly recommended, but it it not mandatory.
If you have any questions about the training information, please contact Helen at helen (at) volunteergalway . ie .
For practical questions regarding how to register for the webinars, please get in touch with Oana at communications (at) gccn . ie
