On Friday, November 15th, Dublin City Volunteer Centre was thrilled to host an exciting and impactful Volunteer Fair in partnership with LinkedIn. This event brought together 21 inspiring organisations and over 200 passionate volunteers, all eager to make a difference in their communities.
From l to r: Sarah McElroy, Deputy Manager Dublin City Volunteer Centre (DCVC), Sandra Mpofu, Thrive project, Nina Tryhorn Organisation Support DCVC, Sinikiwe Dhliwayo, Volunteer Inclusion & Engagement DCVC
The fair was designed to connect like-minded individuals interested in volunteering, with organisations in need of support, fostering opportunities for collaboration and community engagement. Each organisation showcased their missions, goals, and volunteer opportunities. It was great to see the creativity of the stands, with some decorating with fairy lights, enticing with chocolates and drawing people in with lots of fabulous pull up stands promoting each organisation! Attendees were given their own individual passports, gathering stickers from each organisation’s stand along the way. This encouraged attendees to meet with all the organisations there, leading to the chance of winning a prize!
We were also delighted to have Sandra Mpofu attend, who heads up the Thrive project across the four Dublin Volunteer Centres. She met with the organisations and discussed how she can support them in her role. As part of her role, she looks to promote and facilitate volunteering by displaced persons.
The turnout was very positive, with volunteers from various backgrounds and skill sets, including LinkedIn employees, people new to Ireland, members of the public, people recently retired and many more. They all came to explore the different ways they could contribute to causes close to their hearts. The event fostered a vibrant atmosphere, full of energy and enthusiasm as people networked, shared stories and discovered new opportunities to get involved.
Feedback from the organisations included; “I really value the effort both the Dublin City Volunteer Centre and LinkedIn went to in hosting and facilitating this event. Many positive conversations were had and hopefully there will be more similar events in the future too. Really great work by all involved.” Others commented “Can’t wait for the next one!”
We are appreciative of the strong partnership we have with LinkedIn, whose platform enabled us to bring together a diverse group of organisations and individuals. Their support made this event possible and increased our reach, ensuring that both volunteers and organisations had the best possible experience.
This successful Volunteer Fair highlights the power of collaboration, as we continue to strengthen communities through meaningful volunteer opportunities.
Dublin City Volunteer Centre looks forward to hosting more events like this in the future, supporting volunteer-involving organisations (VIOs) to network with each other and enabling them to meet the growing number of people interested in volunteering.
Note: Thank you to all the organisations who registered their interest in attending this event. As you are aware, the number of spots were limited and as such some of you were on a waiting list. We plan next year to offer you other chances to attend this type of event or similar.
In the meantime, if you need any support with advertising volunteer roles or have questions about Volunteer Management in general, please contact Nina Tryhorn, Organisation Support; nina@volunteerdublincity.ie