Karen Johnson, Manager

Karen is the manager at Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Volunteer Centre and works with local volunteer involving organisations to help them develop their volunteering roles and to promote best practice in volunteer management.  If you work with a voluntary or community organisation in the county of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown and want to find out more about involving volunteers in your work, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Sarah Burgess, Placement Officer

Sarah is the placement officer for the volunteer centre and works with potential volunteers to help them find a suitable volunteering opportunity.  If you are thinking about volunteering and want to have a chat about what is available, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Volunteer Centre Management Committee

Mary Collins - DLR Community Platform
Angeline Conefry - An Garda Siochana
Dominique Howard -Citizens Information Service
David Lawless - DLR County Council
James McCann - Community & Voluntary Forum
Orlaith McGourty - University College Dublin
Gabriel McWeeney - County Enterprise Board
Damien O'Sullivan - Scouting Ireland
Niall Sexton - Southside Partnership

Volunteer Centres provide a placement service between individuals and groups who want to undertake voluntary activity and organisations that are seeking to involve volunteers. Their primary function is to match individuals and groups interested in volunteering with appropriate volunteering opportunities. To do this, they offer advice and support to both volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations through a range of services that include information provision, consultation, training and Garda Vetting.

Local Volunteer Centres provide an invaluable link between individuals wishing to undertake voluntary activity and organisations seeking to involve volunteers. Volunteer Centres believe passionately in the value of volunteering and the benefits of volunteering for all: the individual, the volunteer-involving organisation and the wider society. They contribute to community development, active citizenship and social capital and are a vital component of any national volunteering infrastructure, providing local support at the same time as informing future initiatives and national policy. In addition to placing volunteers, Volunteer Centres stimulate and encourage volunteering by promoting volunteering at local, regional and national events and in local, regional and national campaigns.

They work towards breaking down the barriers to volunteering, targeting specific groups of people who are under - or unrepresented in volunteering. Volunteer Centres develop volunteering opportunities through consultation with local voluntary and community organisations. They recognise the potential of volunteering and encourage groups and organisations – be they private, statutory or voluntary and community – to think creatively about volunteering roles and to develop imaginative, non-traditional opportunities for potential volunteers. In addition, Volunteer Centres work to promote good practice in working with volunteers through the delivery of training and support.

They campaign and respond to legislation that may impact on volunteering and, as local experts on volunteering, inform planning and policy at regional and national level. Volunteer Centres would never claim to ‘own’ volunteering. Rather, they take a pro-active approach to facilitating and enabling volunteering. They will work with any organisation that seeks to do likewise.

The Irish government is committed to developing the volunteering infrastructure in Ireland, including through supporting local Volunteer Centres. This is outlined in Towards 2016 and the National Development Plan, 2007-2013. In June 2009, the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs issued its Policy on Volunteer Centres.