Third Sector launches website to match professional volunteers and charities

Third Sector launches website to match professional volunteers and charities

News (UK)

A website aiming to help people search for volunteering opportunities to match their skills and expertise was launched by Third Sector last month.

ThirdSectorVolunteering aims to help professionals from all sectors contribute to charitable causes through the skills they have developed in their working lives. It contains hundreds of live volunteering opportunities posted free-of-charge and searchable by skillset and cause area.

Serena McMahon, associate publisher of Third Sector, told Philanthropy UK: "Our experience in working with leading charities has shown us that there is a strong demand from within the charity sector to promote not just paid job opportunities but also volunteering roles. With the launch of ThirdSectorVolunteering we are able to fulfil that demand - completely free of charge.”

With around 10.6m people in England volunteering formally at least once a month and 42% of people in employment formally volunteering once a year, volunteers are crucial to many charities. Through ThirdSectorVolunteering, Third Sector aims to support one of the sector’s most vital resources.

McMahon said: “ThirdSectorVolunteering offers charities a key benefit by gaining access to our network’s wide reach across the industry. Our division, Haymarket Business Media, operates across 14 specialist markets, from healthcare to marketing and with the new website, we can help match skilled volunteers with charities who want to tap into their expertise no matter their profession."

McMahon added: "There are lots of great volunteering organisations out there and we would be open to working with any of them to strengthen our current offering.

Helen Walker, chief executive of national volunteering charity TimeBank told Philanthropy UK: “If we’ve learnt one thing from the Olympics, it’s that there is huge enthusiasm for all kinds of volunteering, including the ad hoc skills-based opportunities that ThirdSectorVolunteering will promote – and that we need to tap into that passion. However, we know from our own experience at TimeBank that volunteers often need a great deal of guidance and support to find the opportunities that will give them the most meaningful experiences while ensuring charities benefit from the skills and expertise volunteers can offer.”

  • Volunteering/trusteeship
  • UK