New app will help people find volunteer work in their locality
By Mary Dennehy
THE manager of the South Dublin County Volunteer Centre has heralded a new app launched to help people find volunteer roles in their local area.
Volunteer Ireland and the network of Volunteer Centres have launched a new app called I-Vol to help people find volunteer roles based on their location, interests and time available.
Nina Arwitz and Tricia Nolan with Minister Sean Canney TD, launching the I-VOL app at the National Ploughing Championships 2019
Users will also be able to create a profile to keep track of roles they have applied for and log any volunteer hours they undertake.
South Dublin County Volunteer Centre Manager, Tricia Nolan has worked on the I-Vol database for a number of years and led on the development of the app.
“One of the most common reasons that people don’t volunteer is they don’t know how to,” Ms Nolan said.
“This app will make it easy for people to find volunteer roles near them and with over 23,000 volunteers being sought by over 8,600 organisations on I-VOL right now there are plenty to choose from.
“What’s really exciting about the app is that people can simply open the map and see roles nearby in just a few clicks.”
Ms Nolan also stressed the importance of technology to volunteering.
“In the last 12 months, we have had over 30,000 visits to the national volunteering database I-VOL, with more than 170,000 of these visits via a phone or tablet”, Ms Nolan said.
“We’re delighted to now launch an app that will allow prospective volunteers to search and apply for volunteering roles around them with thousands of not-for-profit organisations, and be alerted to new and urgent volunteering roles.
“This app will prove valuable to those who have volunteered before as well as those who are interested in volunteering for the first time and want to get an idea of the breadth of roles available throughout Ireland.”
Funding for the development of the app came through the Department of Rural and Community Development.
According to Minister of State for Natural Resources, Community Affairs and Digital Development Sean Canney TD: “It is very encouraging to see such innovation which promotes and connects volunteering all over the country.”
The I-Vol app is available to download now in the App Store and Google Play Store.
