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
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.
- Fill out the application form depending on which programme you would like to volunteer for or register your interest via I-VOL.
- Volunteer team calls for an informal interview (for Care and Repair only).
- 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).
- Reference checks completed.
- Garda Vetting completed (For Care and Repair only).
- Volunteer training completed on our E-Learning platform by Volunteer.
- 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
