Recruiting Volunteers to your Community Sponsorship Group

Above, you can watch a snippet from Citizens UK's webinar: "How to recruit volunteers and build a strong group"

Featured in the video: Eilis Tobin (West Hampstead Welcomes, London) & Canon Gareth Jones (Diocese of Chelmsford) share how they recruited volunteers and built a strong Community Sponsorship group. Fiona Meldrum (Citizens UK) shares training in Community Organising.

Citizens UK are Lead Sponsor for 80 Community Sponsorship Groups (as of Oct 2022).

Citizen UK's Top Tips - How to Recruit Volunteers

• Map your community - where do people gather? (Mosques, Churches, Colleges, Migrant Organisations, etc.) Reach out to the leaders in these communities and arrange to meet for a one-to-one coffee.

Tell them about your project. Get to know them, and understand their self-interest - why would they want to support? (For example, will this bring energy and purpose to their church? Do they have a personal connection to refugees?) Ask them to share what you are doing with their members, and introduce you to potential volunteers.

• Run a launch event in your community - get to know who is "out there", and shout about what you are doing. Invite people who have sponsored, or been sponsored to share their story. Make sure you have a sign up sheet, to capture details on the night! (We have seen successful online meetings over the pandemic, and is a good way to reach people with less budget!)

Watch the video above to hear about a successful event in Essex, England.

• Have clear role descriptions - people are more likely to sign up if they have a clear understanding of what is expected from them, and there are boundaries. Do you know someone who would be perfect for a role? Ask them directly - it is hard to say no to a personal ask!

• Have fun! People are doing this in their spare time - they won't come back if they don't enjoy it, and feel useful.