Getting Started – Dublin City Volunteer Centre

At Dublin City Volunteer Centre, we offer all the tools you need to start volunteering:

Did you know that Dublin City Volunteer Centre is one of a network of volunteer centres in Ireland? Find out more about What We Do

Whether you are new to volunteering, or have years of experience, it’s important that you find an opportunity that matches your skill & interests at a time that suits you.

We believe that volunteering is for everyone, and we our proud to offer a huge variety of volunteering opportunities to choose from on our I-VOL database.

Before you search for a role, you’ll need to consider what will suit you best. Here are a few questions to consider:

What skills could I offer? What skills would I like to learn?
What interests or causes would I like to support through volunteering?
What do I hope to gain from the experience? (Practice skills, meet new people, keep busy etc.)
How much time do I realistically want to spend volunteering?
How far am I willing to travel to volunteer – keeping in mind the costs involved?

Once you’ve thought about these questions, you are ready to REGISTER and SEARCH for a volunteering role. You can search for roles by skills, interests, availability and location.

The best way to find suitable roles is through I-VOL, the national volunteering database, where you can get volunteering in three easy steps:

Once you are registered, we’ll contact you to let you know about the next steps.

You can also use the I-VOL App to access the IVOL database on your phone. Available to download now in the App Store and Google Play Store.

When searching for a role, we recommend that you pay special close attention to:

Location of volunteering opportunity: Where is the opportunity? Can you travel there easily?
Minimum time commitment: Some opportunities require a commitment of 3 months or more. Try to be realistic when thinking about how long you can commit to a volunteering role Normal 0 false false false EN-IE X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:8.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:107%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} .
Level of English required: Are you an international student in Dublin looking to practice your English? Choose 'Suitable for Basic English' when searching for roles.
Screening details: Screening can vary depending on the role. Generally Quick Start roles (festivals, clean-ups, one-off fundraising) simply ask for an application form and informal interviews. Some roles require Garda vetting or other more detailed screening, which may take a bit longer.

Once registered, you can save volunteer roles that you are interested in while you search. We ask that you do not apply for more than 5 roles at a time.

Once you Register Interest in a role, we will contact you with further details. In most cases your details are forwarded to the organisation, and they will get in touch with you directly. The rest of the recruitment process will be led by the organisation you have applied to volunteer with.

Remember, Organisations will strive to get back to you quickly, but many have limited resources, and some are run completely by volunteers who may not be able to respond as quickly as they would like.

Once you have submitted an application, we will get in touch to see how the process is going. We also check in to see if you have started volunteering.