Creating Successful Partnerships with Older Volunteers in Arts & Wellbeing Services

Resources from our 'Creating Successful Partnerships with Older Volunteers in Arts & Wellbeing Services' workshop

Delivered in partnership with Reach Volunteering, Dr Jacqueline Richards, and the Flourishing Lives Advisory Group (FLAG), the workshop focused on creating successful partnerships with older volunteers, and developing skills-based volunteering for older people in arts and wellbeing services.

Here are the resources that were shared during the session:

  • Reach Volunteering’s webinar slides, with kind permission from Janet Thorne (CEO of Reach Volunteering), which include further links and resources.
  • Dr Jacqueline Richards’ webinar slides, with kind permission from Jackie Richards.
  • The workshop championed the vast array of values, expertise, experience and skills that older people can bring to the arts and wellbeing organisations that they engage with.
  • The workshop slides help to outline: what skills-based volunteers can do for you; the range of roles they can play; common pitfalls and how to avoid them; tips on de-risking volunteering; the power of values-led volunteering; volunteers and staff, how they fit together and what ethical questions does it raise?; and setting the relationship up for success – creating a successful partnership.
  • You can view the video recording of the workshop below:   

'Creating Successful Partnerships with Older Volunteers in Arts & Wellbeing Services'

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Many thanks again to Janet Thorne (CEO of Reach Volunteering), and Dr Jacqueline Richards (Freelance networker, advisor, volunteer and older dancer) for sharing their knowledge and expertise, and for all their help in delivering the workshop.

Reach Volunteering is the leading skills-based volunteering charity and the UK’s single biggest source of trustees for the voluntary sector. Our vision is to create a world where people come together to create a thriving, fair and sustainable society. We inspire, support and connect civil society organisations and volunteers to work together, sharing skills and expertise to create a better society.

Jackie Richards left her fulltime career in 2008 wanting to return to dancing and community activities and to see what life brings. She had been a busy senior manager at City & Guilds, the awarding organisation, leading teams of colleagues and working with subject experts to develop and promote Health & Social Care, Community Development and Creative Arts qualifications. She was also a coach-mentor within the organisation and beyond. Prior to this career she had been a teacher. The last fourteen years have been beyond all expectations and she has enjoyed getting involved in a range of paid and voluntary activities, including creating and encouraging new arts opportunities, advising some national and London based organisations, and championing the breakdown of ageist stereotypes and encouraging inclusion. She is now an older dancer and has performed in several older dance festivals and films.

She is involved with several organisations exploring new ways to meet many challenges during these uncertain changing times. As well as her varied work, she also gained a work-based doctorate “Active Older People participating in Creative Dance – Challenging Perceptions” and has presented findings at some national and international conferences, and recently worked on a project about academia, community groups and artists collaborating together. She has volunteered in a wide variety of community and arts activities throughout her life, and is looking forward to sharing some of her experiences and insights during the Flourishing Lives workshop, where she will share ideas about the main features of volunteering from the perspective of an older adult, as well as ways organisations could benefit from volunteers in positive ways.