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Volunteer with us

We are delighted to have achieved the Investing in Volunteers quality standard in April 2023. Investing in Volunteers (IiV) is the national quality standard for good practice in volunteer management in Ireland.

We are committed to providing the best possible volunteering experience for our volunteers who make an incredible difference in the lives of those older people we serve.

Volunteering is at the heart of our programmes and services at Age Action. Our volunteer team support and train approximately 1,000 volunteers annually. As volunteers give their time and effort for free, Age Action is committed bringing each volunteer on a journey, providing ongoing training and support, and skills development opportunities.

Volunteering with Age Action is a great way to make an incredible difference in the lives of older people.

There are currently two main volunteering opportunities with Age Action: Getting Started and Care and Repair.

You can find out more about volunteering opportunities below.

You can also check out our roles across the country and apply to volunteer with us via I-VOL.

Meet the Volunteer Team

Megan Reilly - National Volunteering Manager
Eimear Farrell - Engagement and Development Officer
Carol Kelly - Development Officer

You can contact the volunteer team on volunteering@ageaction.ie 

Our Volunteering Roles

Care and Repair is a service that helps to keep people living in their own homes in increased safety and comfort. Age Action’s volunteer teams provide small DIY jobs in older people’s homes free of charge to help them maintain their homes and their independence. 

Getting Started: As part of our fight against digital exclusion, Age Action's Getting Started programme offers free, one-to-one, volunteer-led training in digital literacy, supporting older people to get online, or use their smart device with confidence.

Advocacy: We consider all our volunteers to have a role in advocating against ageism and to support Age Action’s mission and goals. Our pursuit of equality and human rights is underpinned by our work to promote ageing in place, life‐long learning, and health and wellbeing for older people, empowering them to live as active citizens. By volunteering with Age Action, you can play a key part in this and help us deliver on our vision for the future of older people in Ireland.

Apply to Volunteer

Time Commitment

We generally ask for a commitment of six months from our volunteers. This is to ensure that you also get the most out of the process.

Getting Started classes currently last for five to six weeks, and the time commitment is two hours per week.

Care and Repair jobs will last no longer than two hours at a time.

The Volunteer Application Process

Firstly, decide on the role you might like to do; if you are not sure, our volunteering team is more than happy to talk to you about what might best suit you.

  1. Fill out the application form depending on which programme you would like to volunteer for or register your interest via I-VOL.
  2. Volunteer team calls for an informal interview (for Care and Repair only).
  3. Develop Officer gets in touch to introduce themselves and talk through the role and process. (this person will be your main Age Action liaison person and support throughout your volunteering journey).  
  4. Reference checks completed.
  5. Garda Vetting completed (For Care and Repair only).
  6. Volunteer training completed on our E-Learning platform by Volunteer.
  7. You’re ready to start volunteering!

Our commitment to our volunteers

Our volunteers help us to tackle ageism and support older people to live full and independent lives. We aim to ensure that volunteering with Age Action is a two-way relationship, from which both the Volunteer and Age Action will jointly benefit. We always look to offer opportunities for our Volunteers, train our volunteers to the best standard and provide ongoing resources and support.

We are committed to ensuring an accessible and inclusive volunteer experience. Please let us know if you have any accessibility requirements via the application form, or indeed if your circumstances change while being a volunteer for Age Action and we will do our best to make sure your Volunteering journey with us is the best that it can be.  

Benefits of Volunteering

According to the National Volunteering Strategy 2021-2025, volunteering:

  • connects people to their communities, reducing isolation and enabling people to get involved in causes they care about;
  • affords an opportunity for people to build on their skills and employability;
  • improves mental and physical health; and
  • increases levels of happiness and contentment.

We see this every day, volunteers telling us that they feel they get as much if not more from volunteering than the people they support!

You’ll also get the following:

  • The opportunity to gain or improve your communication and teamwork skills.
  • A monthly Age Action newsletter.
  • Invitation to a monthly Age Action Volunteers zoom which provide training and information.
  • Invitations to in person volunteer meet ups throughout the year.
  • Opportunity to meet new people.
  • Make a real difference in the lives of older people.  

What our Volunteers say

Taken from comments from our 2021 Volunteer Survey

“I've felt I positively impacted many lives, but likewise my life was hugely positively impacted”

“I learned from the learner and grew my own knowledge”

“I have met the most wonderful, warm people over the years”

What Older People say about our Volunteers

‘The teaching was superb. It’s just made me a very happy, confident person’ Mary from Dublin

‘It gave me great courage. I had a new Smartphone and was terrified of doing something wrong. My tutor was excellent and taught me how to send emails with attachments and save photographs. I’m a lot more confident on the internet now.’ Ann from Longford

A photograph of Gas Networks Ireland Volunteers at our Garden Blitz in 2022
Getting Started learners and their tutors.
A photo from a Volunteer Coffee morning in Galway from January 2023.

Age Action Awarded Investing In Volunteers National Quality Standard

Age Action is delighted to announce that we have been awarded the Investing in Volunteers quality standard. Investing in Volunteers (IiV) is the national quality standard for good practice in volunteer management in Ireland.

The Investing in Volunteers standard assesses the organisation’s volunteering programme in six areas: vision for volunteering, planning for volunteers, volunteer inclusion, recruiting and welcoming volunteers, supporting volunteers, and valuing and developing volunteers. As part of the process, we completed a self-assessment of our volunteering programme, and with the assistance of an Investing in Volunteers mentor, we then put together an improvement plan. Over the course of the assessment forty of our volunteers were interviewed as well as staff and board members.

Every year, hundreds of people volunteer with Age Action in our Getting Started digital literacy programme, and with our Care and Repair DIY Service. We would like to thank all of our wonderful volunteers who bring their time, energy and skills to Age Action and are the reason that our volunteering programme is so impactful. Volunteers are at the heart of our programmes and services at Age Action and without our volunteers we couldn’t fulfil our mission to support older people to live full and independent lives. Achieving the Investing in Volunteers quality standard shows our commitment to providing an experience that reflects how much we value our volunteers.

Here’s what some of our Volunteers said as part of the process:

‘I’ve gained a lot of skills from volunteering.  It has built my confidence in teamworking and communication.’

‘It keeps me active being able to help people and improve their quality of life’. 

‘I think they’ve got it just right with the amount of information to keep you in touch.  The monthly newsletter let’s you see what’s going on”.

“Emails keep you informed.  They are very willing to take suggestions on board, they encourage you to give them feedback’.

Going through the Investing in Volunteers process has helped us to review and improve our volunteering programme in its entirety, from how we recruit, train and support volunteers, to how we communicate with and involve our volunteers at all levels of the organisation. As we celebrate achieving the standard, we reiterate our commitment to providing the best possible volunteering experience for our volunteers who make an incredible difference in the lives of those older people we serve.