Volunteering Matters: awards, stories, ideas & training
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Volunteering Matters!
Every volunteer is special, so be sure to show them your thanks by nominating them for a Volunteer Ireland Award before 10th October.
Nominate a volunteer for a Volunteer Ireland Award!
Three volunteers at MoLI-Museum of Literature Ireland help us launch the Awards from their beautiful garden.
Send your thanks to the helpers in your community
The Volunteer Ireland Awards are the major annual initiative to celebrate volunteers in Ireland. The awards shine a light on the remarkable achievements of volunteers around the country by honoring them at a national level.
Every volunteer that is nominated will receive a thank you card from Volunteer Ireland. We want to let everyone who is nominated know that their contributions are greatly valued and that someone took the time to put them forward for an award.
Awardees’ volunteer stories will be shared across our social media channels and with local and national press. By sharing these incredible volunteers’ stories we are honouring their contribution to Irish society and also inspiring others to get involved.
We will announce the awardees at a special ceremony in December!
The 2025 Volunteer Ireland Awards are made possible thanks to the support of the Department of Rural and Community Development and award partners Healthy Ireland.
2024's winning photo was taken by Janet Breslin of her daughter Nessa marching at the Letterkenny Pride parade.
Share a pic of your favourite volunteering this year
This year we are featuring a photography contest as a part of the Awards so we can see the amazing volunteers of Ireland in action!
Share your pictures of volunteering for a chance to join us at the Awards. We’ll be displaying the photos at the ceremony, as well as sharing them with national and local media and on our social media channels.
We know volunteers are often humble people and aren't looking for an award, but it's important to let them know how much they mean to us.
All of our communities rely on volunteers and that's why we send a personalised Thank You Card to each and every nominee. It may not feel it, but the tiny actions of kindness have huge ripples of impact!
This course will guide people through information and customisable tools, which organisations of all sizes can use to measure the impact of volunteering and therefore show what is being achieved.
We're here to explore why gender gaps exist, what holds women back, and how organisations like yours can help create a fairer and more balanced leadership landscape.
