Coastline Housing has been re-accredited with the national Investing in Volunteers charter mark on the tenth anniversary of its volunteering programme. 

The housing charity, based in Redruth, has been welcoming volunteers to help in its homeless service, extra care scheme and other core services for over ten years, providing people with the opportunity to gain vital experience in a workplace, undertake training, boost their confidence and more. 

Currently around 50 volunteers are involved in Coastline’s work at any one time. Last year alone they donated 3,636 hours of help equating to a social value of £325,314. 

In the past 12 months, seven of Coastline’s volunteers progressed into permanent employment. 

Tamsyn Pegler, volunteer manager, said: “We could not be prouder of this accomplishment. The contribution the volunteers make to our customers and communities is so valuable and we are proud to have them involved in our work.” 

Volunteers are trained by Coastline to help in a large variety of ways including befriending roles to help customers struggling with loneliness, various advice and guidance roles, digital buddies for people struggling with the online world and specific project roles at the Homeless Service for helping with gardening, life skills and much more. 

Tamsyn added: “It’s astounding the amount of skills people have and the ways they want to help out. 

“One volunteer who worked as a hairdresser wanted to offer her services by popping into the Homeless Service and offering free haircuts to clients who wanted them before attending job interviews and the like. 

“Needless to say, we were delighted to welcome her and so were the clients.” 

Coastline has also opened up its volunteer programme to younger people aged 14-18 years meaning that the charity can offer opportunities for students needing to volunteer as part of their Duke of Edinburgh award programme and other similar initiatives. 

Investing in Volunteers is the UK quality standard for all organisations involving volunteers. 

“Its aims to improve the quality of the volunteering experience for all volunteers and demonstrates that organisations value the enormous contribution made by their volunteers. 

“Investing in Volunteers is delivered by the national volunteering infrastructure bodies in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Together they enable organisations across the UK to achieve the award. 

Coastline Housing was assessed against six quality areas and proved to excel in all aspects of working with its volunteers. 

The chair of UKVF (the awarding body) said: “UKVF is delighted to announce Coastline‘s successful achievement of this award, they have demonstrated a real commitment to volunteering, proven that their volunteer management policies and procedures meet nationally recognised standards.” 

Anyone wishing to find out more about volunteering with Coastline can visit the charity’s website.