City Harvest: Investing in Volunteers Accredited

City Harvest: Investing in Volunteers Accredited 

We are delighted to announce that City Harvest London have achieved the UK-national Investing in Volunteers accreditation!

What is Investing in Volunteers?

Investing in Volunteers (IiV) is the UK quality standard for good practice in volunteer management.

If you want to assess the quality of your volunteer management and involvement, prove and improve the effectiveness of your work with volunteers, and enhance your organisation’s reputation, IiV provides the ideal framework.

What does this mean for City Harvest?

Achieving the IiV standard shows our volunteers – and potential volunteers – how much they are valued and gives them confidence in our ability to provide an outstanding volunteer experience.

Some key quotes from our IiV assessment:

As part of our assessment, 58 volunteers, 7 staff members, and our Chairman, Paul Freeston, participated in a mix of 1:1 and group interviews with our IiV assessor.

A report was then written by our assessor with the outcomes of our assessment. Below are some key findings from our assessment:

“Volunteers are drawn to the mission of City Harvest and derive great satisfaction from being part of the dual impact of stopping food going to waste and reducing food poverty and seeing the tangible difference that they are making.”-  IiV Assessor

About Volunteering

“It was evident from interviews that volunteers feel highly valued and appreciated for the contribution they make.”

From our volunteers:

• “You are made to feel appreciated from the CEO down – that you are an essential part of the organisation. From the CEO down, there is recognition that everyone is part of the organisation, and they take on board what you say. We are not taken for granted. We are all interdependent on each other.”

• “Volunteers are really the beating heart. They are not an add on, they are a vital part of the charity. They are core – an integral cog in the process, which is nice. You really see the impact directly and immediately.”

• “It’s a community. Everybody from the new volunteer to the CEO has the same mindset to make it work. Everyone is friendly and approachable so that it’s a pleasure to volunteer and feel you’re doing good.”

• “There is a sense of camaraderie. There’s a sense of us being cogs in the organisation – but we’re all as important as each other. A friendly, productive way of working is developed.”

• “It’s a lovely community. City Harvest supports communities and volunteers are the community. We are so fundamental to their aim. Volunteers feel so valued because we are so integral to the operation.”

About City Harvest staff, volunteers said:

“It was evident from interviews that volunteers feel highly valued and appreciated for the contribution they make.”

From our volunteers:

• “I adore the staff. They are very personable and authentic. They are generally heart and soul and hard working. It’s contagious. You want to do your best by helping them”.

• “They are amazing – they will help no matter what.”

• “The volunteer staff team is enthusiastic, kind, and empathetic. They are unique. It’s one of the reasons that I’m a long-term volunteer. They are brilliant.”

• “The staff on the warehouse floor are excellent. They are welcoming, warm, and fun to be around. I always look forward to my next shift and know them well.”

• “The staff on the floor are a great community of people, dedicated to the cause and making volunteers welcome and valued.”

• “The volunteer team are very good at appreciating, organising people and anticipating their needs. They have got it down to a science with working with volunteers”.
• “We all keep coming back. The encouragement and positivity make you want to keep coming back week after week”.

About the culture at City Harvest

“Volunteers are extremely positive about the inclusive culture at City Harvest and the diversity of volunteers that are involved.” – IiV Assessor 

“Volunteers are at the core of the organisation; communities are at our very centre. Without volunteers, we would lack community spirit – people from all backgrounds acting as one. It’s a message for the organisation and shows the benefit of receiving and getting involved in the organisation. We are all equal and we’re all having fun.”

 

– Staff member

From our volunteers: 

• “There is such a variety of people – all ages and all backgrounds. We’re all there for the same reason – united in one goal. It doesn’t matter who you are, everyone is welcome. We are all the same under one roof. In the words of Quincy Jones ‘We check our egos at the door.”

• “There’s a level playing field at City Harvest… They go out of their way to include you.”

• “It doesn’t matter who you are – they accept you. They treat you as an individual.”

• “You learn a lot from other volunteers. Some have had very big careers and life experiences. I’ve met a British Olympic coach and an asylum seeker from Ethiopia. It’s completely a mix of people – lots of different people.”

• “You are very much part of a team. It’s a team place with every range of age and ethnicity and it works so well. It’s for everyone. If you don’t want to talk, you can work on a task on your own; if you get on with people, you can be social.”

On support while volunteering

“IiV interviewees were particularly complimentary about support always being available, being tailored to the individual, and going over and beyond support relating to volunteering.” – IiV Assessor

From our volunteers: 

• “The support is excellent. I can’t think of one time when there wasn’t a clear and positive answer to even the smallest thing. Nothing is too much trouble. You can always find a staff member to help.” 

• “You are fully supported; you know how to contact [the staff] and it’s easy to communicate and get answers. The support is excellent, better than other organisations I’ve volunteered in.”

• “The support is excellent, compared to other volunteer roles I do. They are a shining example of how you manage and support volunteers.”

• “You do feel supported, valued and appreciated and part of an important mission.”

• “They operate a real open-door policy. It’s the type of vibe where they welcome feedback and respond.”

• According to the City Harvest survey (2024), 95% of respondents feel safe and supported.

• 96% of the City Harvest volunteer survey said that they would recommend volunteering at City Harvest to other people.

“Volunteering at City Harvest has also been very beneficial and impactful for volunteers in terms of keeping physically active and bringing the rewards of social connection. In some cases, it has been transformational for people’s wellbeing.” –  IiV Assessor

• “It’s such a feeling of a big heart in this place. The direct impact of what you’re doing is good for your wellbeing. It’s very well organised. It’s a huge operation and a very fun atmosphere. Everyone is jolly, the music is pumping, and the staff are very chatty.”

• A long-standing volunteer said “My experience has been wonderful. I have been supported in every way, even in bereavement they helped me out. If anybody wants to join City Harvest, I would encourage them. The experience is wonderful.”

• “I love the experience – it has rejuvenated me. I lost my spark during COVID. People like me who are extroverts lost their buzz. Here we are all singing from the same hymn sheet, everyone is likeable and it’s a friendly environment.”

• “I have cancer and lost my soul. I needed a purpose in life for my mental state. Everybody has been absolutely fantastic.”

About the accessibility of volunteering with City Harvest 

“The organisation’s flexible approach to volunteering, with volunteers able to choose slots around their lifestyles, enables a wide variety of people to volunteer. This is highly appreciated by volunteers.” – IiV Assessor

From our volunteers: 

• “The level of flexibility is a strength, and they have made it more flexible with even shorter shifts. It makes it very inclusive. You can do a 2-hour slot and more days. It’s made it very easy to volunteer.”

About training and safety while volunteering with City Harvest

“The organisation’s flexible approach to volunteering, with volunteers able to choose slots around their lifestyles, enables a wide variety of people to volunteer. This is highly appreciated by volunteers.” – IiV Assessor

From our volunteers: 

• “The online induction was very smooth, and the manual handling was very good. The onboarding is very good. On my first day, there was someone to greet me, which took away my uncertainty.”

• “They covered all the health and safety aspects. They start you off reasonably gently… for me it was barrels of pears. We were given gloves, jackets – you get everything you need to do the job.”

• “At induction, we were taught how to sign in, invited to the canteen, given a tour around, shown the Volunteer Area and what we needed to check, given gloves and told about safety. Everything was explained very fully. We were informed properly. We were asked where we would like to start, considering our needs. I have MS, so I’m not usually sorting. They are really keen to take needs into consideration and they are really, really strict about safety.”

On communication, volunteers commented:

From our volunteers: 

• “The communication is excellent. It includes on the day communication; we’re kept up to date with what’s happening- refurbishments and extensions and receive lots of emails. Communication material is there but you get most communication in person…You are made to feel at the heart of what they are doing. There is no shortage of information.”

• “The impact information that City Harvest provides through its EQUALS campaign shows how much food has been able to be saved and redistributed by the hours people give to volunteering, helps volunteers to feel that their role is meaningful and impactful.”

• “The communication is very good. They do a lot and make a big effort. If you want to be informed – you can be.”

A HUGE Thank You

From the Volunteer Team at City Harvest, thank you to Investing in Volunteers, our staff and our volunteers for their ongoing support. We look forward to continuing our work and taking our volunteering programme to new heights going forward!