Welcome Diana Hardman, Battersea’s new Volunteer Development Officer

Hello! My Name is Diana Hardman and I am the new Volunteering Development Officer for Battersea. I’m working for the Big Local SW11 Alliance and based out of KLS. My role is to develop and expand volunteering across Battersea.

I am new in post, but not in experience. I come with 30 years of working with volunteers and supporting charities. My last job was in Waltham Forest where I set up their volunteer service and supported the charity sector in best practices in volunteering. After 10 years in the east of London, it was time to head south!

My first three weeks of working in Battersea have been exciting, super busy and also quite strange. Let’s face it, working from home is most odd when you first start a new job, but wow, I have really got to know everyone through the power of Zoom. I feel like I have been here for months rather than three weeks.

I have met with all the members of the Big Local SW11 Alliance (Big Local SW11, Caius House, Carney’s Community, Katherine Low Settlement, Providence House, St Peter’s Church Battersea), most of the staff at KLS (where I’m based) and some organisations supporting the sector. I have asked the questions ,“Do you use volunteers?”, “How do you recruit and manage them?” and more. Everyone has been friendly, very open and candid. Each project is doing something different with varying degrees of success. There are some amazing projects in Battersea doing great things in the local community. It’s really given me a good picture how the sector in Battersea is operating.

What will I be doing?

• Now – working with organisations in Battersea to support and develop best practices in volunteering. I’m just about to do some mapping work to see what’s currently going on and what support/training local organisations need. Do watch out for my Zoom call!
• By spring 2021 – delivering training in ‘Recruiting Volunteers’ and ‘Managing Volunteers’ to enable not for profit organisations in Battersea to take on more volunteers and be confident in how to support and manage them.
• By the end of next year – we want to celebrate volunteering in Battersea. As well as, raise the profile of what we do. We need to say a massive ‘thank you’ to the volunteers who support and add value to our much needed community services.
• And then – supporting volunteer recruitment.

And so, to begin…

My first steps are getting an understanding of how you work with volunteers. This will enable me to support you and the sector in Battersea.

We are asking organisations to complete our ‘Mapping of Volunteering in Battersea’ survey. The results of this will be analysed and form the basis of my work. We will share the results.

How can you get involved?

How can we get the word out about this new venture? Do you use volunteers or want to use volunteers? Who else do you know that could benefit from this service? Refer yourself and refer two more organisations!

Drop me a line with your ideas and referrals or give me a call and lets talk on [email protected] and 07956617084.