I was recently at a friend’s party. I knew one person there – the hostess, who had invited me – and so I was duly forced to mingle with people I didn’t know. With everyone I met, I found myself asking the same familiar questions: “What’s your name?”, “Who do you know here?”, and the […]

JVN were honoured this week to be invited to the office of the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Brian Schama. A member of the Jewish community – he conducts no civic events on Shabbat and other festivals – the Mayor was eager to share his views on volunteering and the Jewish community in the London Borough […]

Volunteering for a particular cause or organisation is often a way of becoming extremely passionate about it. People can go to extreme lengths in terms of the time they dedicate and, in some circumstances, the risks they take to see their vision become a reality. In this blog, JVN Intern Elliot Cukier examines just how far […]

Many of us who volunteer use our skills to do so. Whether we have learnt them through academia, during the course of our professional careers or simply out of life experience, the tools and talents that we have developed throughout our lives can really shine through in the world of volunteering. Whether you are a […]

I wrote a blog a few weeks ago entitled ‘What Makes A Volunteering Role Suitable’, highlighting the need to change our attitudes towards the ‘suitability’ of a candidate for a particular volunteering role. I asserted that ‘those who claim to have individual support needs should be taken on their individual merits, not as part of […]

Barack Obama mentioned the word “freedom” seven times in his inaugural address on Monday. That might have been expected when marking the start of his second term as President of the land of the free and the home of the brave. The final mention came in the penultimate line of his speech. He said, “let us […]

It is no secret that in order to get the most out of people in their job, you need to find someone to fit the job description. You wouldn’t invite a history graduate to speak at a nuclear physics conference, and you wouldn’t send a fisherman to fight a fire. Why not? Because they aren’t […]

This week’s blog contains important information from the National Council for Voluntary Organsiations‘ Chief Executive, Sir Stuart Etherington. Please take our time to read this and support the NCVO’s new campaign, Back Britain’s Charities. Together we can set the Third Sector on the road to recovery. “On 13th November 2012, NCVO released the results of […]

As he prepares to leave JVN, Intern Mike takes a frank look at the world of internships

Why having the freedom to volunteer is so very precious – JVN’s Pesach Spring Newsletter 2012

Jewish food and volunteering – could there be a better recipe for a happy life?

JVN team and volunteers give the gift of their time at Jewish Living Expo – and get Eric Pickles MP to as well…!

When it comes to volunteering, it’s certainly not grim up North, JVN visits Manchester

It’s just a few months to go before London 2012 and volunteers are right at the heart of the action. Here, London 2012′s Elizabeth tells us all about her fantastic volunteering role helping to transform London.

As we approach Purim, the festival of giving, Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner shares her story of volunteering and giving time together as a family.