Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) is celebrating after being the first
organisation in the UK to achieve the new Investing in Volunteers (IiV) standard,
the official UK quality standard in volunteering.
The new IiV standard was officially launched in March 2021 and highlights good
practice in volunteer management and emphasises the value that an organisation
puts on volunteers; helping provide an all-round outstanding volunteer experience
from start to finish.
CHAS aims to ensure that no-one faces the death of their child alone and has been
providing hospice services for babies, children and young people for nearly 30 years
across Scotland. The CHAS volunteer force is at the very heart of the organisation
and helps keep the joy alive for families who are facing the terrifying heartbreak of
knowing their child may die young.
Fiona Harvey, Head of Volunteering at CHAS said: “CHAS is proud to achieve the
Investing in Volunteers standard. By signing up to be assessed as part of IiV, we’re
making a public commitment to volunteers and high-quality volunteer
management.
“The assessment process itself provides us with a great opportunity to engage with
staff about volunteering and to learn from volunteers’ experiences of CHAS.
Volunteers tell us that they enjoy volunteering with CHAS and it’s great to know
that we’re on the right track and can use this feedback to plan in the longer-term.”
CHAS was the first organisation in Scotland to achieve the IiV standard in 2005
and, having been through the assessment process for the fifth time in March 2021,
they are the first achievers of the new Investing in Volunteers standard in Scotland.
Allana Fotheringham, IiV Manager, said: “We are delighted to have CHAS as the
first achiever on the new IiV 2021 standard, continuing to show their commitment
to IiV and their volunteers, leading the way for maintaining good practice in
volunteering. Congratulations!”
In Scotland, more than 16,700 children and young people live with life-shortening
conditions and CHAS is determined to reach every family who needs its services.
CHAS works across Scotland to provide its hospice services to babies, children and
young people with life-shortening conditions nationwide. CHAS also offers
palliative, respite and end-of-life care from Rachel House in Kinross and Robin
House in Balloch.
The CHAS at Home service supports families with the services of a hospice yet in
their own homes across the whole of Scotland, proving vitally important throughout
the last year. CHAS Diana Children’s Nurses work in hospitals across the country to
support families and clinical teams
Find out more about Investing in Volunteers, the standard and process on the new
website here: https://investinginvolunteers.co.uk/
About CHAS:
https://www.chas.org.uk/
Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) is on a mission to reach every
family in Scotland that needs its care.
The hard truth is that right now, CHAS only reaches one in three children who
die of a life-shortening condition in Scotland; we are determined to reach them
all. But to do that, quite simply, we need to raise more money.
We make sure that no matter how short family’s time together may be, it is filled
with happiness and vitality. We keep the joy alive by helping families to
celebrate the lives of their children while they are together, and to honour their
memory when they are gone.
We provide vital hospice care services throughout Scotland to support the whole
family, which is why we think it is important our name reflects this.
Follow CHAS on Twitter and Instagram: @supportCHAS, or like us on Facebook:
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