New and existing organisations may be managing a larger volume of volunteers than usual in order to support people in the community.  It will be increasingly important to have a good system in place for organising who is doing what, for whom and when.   Local charity, Renewed Hope Trust, has experience in this area and has strongly recommended DutyMan web based system.

DutyMan allows volunteer based organisations to publish slots of duties to a pool of people for specified dates and times. It can be used by a number of organisations i.e. churches, food banks, etc. to allow people to volunteer for the duties they want to as well as un-volunteer or swap duties as well. This allows for a clear understanding of who is doing what and when. Reminders can be sent to the individuals to remind them of what they have agreed to do and you can also using mailing lists to communicate with them.

Anyone wanting a free trial account can register here https://dutyman.biz/trial1.aspx    Please add “-VARB” at the end of your organisation name e.g. “Nutfield Cricket Club-VARB”

The free account will initially last 3 months; however this can be extended indefinitely for organisations responding to Covid-19.

The online support for Dutyman is very good.  However if you need additional help in getting started then please contact VARB on info@varb.org.uk and we will put you in touch with local volunteers who have experience of using the system.