Gateshead Volunteer Centre

Connected Voice is excited to announce that we will be setting up an Independent Volunteer Centre in Gateshead, starting this April.

Gateshead Council has been running volunteering support in-house since the closure of GVOC in 2017, but approved start-up funding for a new independent service in September 2021. The Volunteer Centre aims to improve health and wellbeing by supporting Gateshead residents to find purpose, increase capability, increase wellbeing, and reduce dependence on services. For our member organisations, we want this service to bring back valuable peer support for organisations supporting volunteers, as well as supporting them to promote volunteering opportunities.

Our Volunteer Centre will work across Gateshead communities adopting locality working and it will be available to everyone, but we will focus on those less likely to engage with volunteering due to mental, physical and cultural reasons. 

Between now and April, Connected Voice will be establishing systems and processes to get the Independent Volunteer Centre up and running, and we look forward to updating you on our progress in the future. We would love to hear your thoughts about what you would like to see from the Volunteer Centre. Our member organisations will help us to shape this work via a stakeholder group, and we will share more information soon about how to join. In the meantime your views and input are much appreciated – please contact Giovanni Spatuzzi - giovanni.spatuzzi@connectedvoice.org.uk