How to use iVOL
I-Vol is the national volunteering database, where you can find all the various volunteer opportunities active in Ireland. You can use it to choose the roles you prefer according to specific criteria (See below).
When you see a role you are interested in you can apply for the opportunity by clicking ‘Apply Now’ and entering your email address. You can browse the opportunities at any time but to apply you need to be registered for our service.
Town or county
You can write the geographical area you wish to volunteer in. If you live in Westport, we suggest you write “Westport” so that you narrow the search only to the Westport area. If you wish to do a more general search to see what is available throughout the county, please put in Mayo. Please remember to read the location stated in the role description to be sure it is within the distance you are willing to travel to volunteer.
Cause
This drop-down menu lists the goals the organisations work for. Read about each cause.
Activity
This drop-down menu lists the various tasks you can select from. Read about each activity.
Keyword
To narrow your search enter a specific name or keyword.
Depending on the organisation one of 3 things may happen.
- Both you and the organisation will receive an automatic email with you details. The organisation is then expected to contact you directly.
- You will be copied in on an email referral to the organisation. This is processed manually by us. The organisation is then expected to contact you directly.
- You will receive an email with the details of the organisation. This is processed manually by us. You are then expected to contact the organisation directly, following any instruction provided in the email.
How the organisation gets in touch with potential volunteers varies. It may be by phone, an email or they might send you out an application pack in the post. If you do not heard from the organisation within a week you should contact them directly with a friendly reminder. If there is still no response, please contact us so we can follow up for you. These three methods of contact exist because of a variety of volunteer-involving organisations. They vary greatly in size. Some may be able to process a high number of automatic emails, others may need a little more help to ensure suitability of applicants. This is all part of our work supporting organisations.
Following on from your application to the organisation, Mayo Volunteer Centre endeavours to contact each volunteer either by phone, email or SMS to follow up with them and ensure that they have heard from the organisation in relation to the volunteer role they are interested in.
We usually recommend you apply for a maximum of 3 roles to start. If you are not sure how to apply online, what roles will suit you or how to narrow down your options, you can contact us to discuss. We are happy to provide assistance or just point you in the right direction.
It is important that you take time to read the role description first before making the decision to apply. A common mistake is that people apply for roles after only reading the title and are not fully sure of what the role entails, what tasks are involved, time and commitments are required.
It varies depending on the role. There are some once-off informal roles where you can get started straight away, but other roles take longer. It all depends on the recruitment and screening process of the organisation. Many organisations need to interview, check references and vet their volunteers. The Garda Vetting process can take between 2-4 weeks. In these roles you should expect it to take at least one month to get started. This can be frustrating for some people but please bear in mind these organisations need to consider the needs of their service users first.
Why not use the rime to take part in some Quick Start Opportunities? (quick start volunteer roles)
This depends on the role(s) that you are interested in. Some roles are short term and ask you to commit to a couple of hours or one day. Others might ask you to commit to a few weeks or months.
Most organisations will only ask you to commit to a couple of hours a week, on an ongoing basis.
If volunteering with vulnerable adults or young people, the organisation will generally ask you to commit a longer time period – perhaps six months to a year. This is to allow time either for a lengthy screening process or to give you and the service users time to build up a relationship.
