2 weeks before opening

A welcome meeting is a great opportunity to get to know each other and start working together as a team.

You may want to discuss the planned programme, check who’s bringing resources and make sure all administration tasks are complete, such as volunteer training and criminal records checks.

Allocating roles to team members is a great way to make everyone feel like they’re involved and contributing to the team.

New volunteers may feel nervous for their first session, so having a role or responsibility they feel comfortable can help settle nerves.

Make sure you have a group necker ready for all volunteers to wear at the first session.

This is another way you can help make new volunteers feel part of the team and young people identify who their new volunteers are.