We’re delighted to be recognised for our work with volunteers by achieving ‘Investing in Volunteers’ status for the second time.
We were awarded the nationally important Investing in Volunteers Award after a six-month-long assessment which confirmed our commitment to our volunteer programme.
The award aims to improve the quality of volunteering experiences offered by organisations all around the UK and demonstrates how much the contributions made by volunteers are valued.
Charlotte Smith, our Director of Conservation Education, said:
“The support we receive from our volunteers is invaluable to our conservation zoo and our charitable efforts to prevent extinction. Every single one of our volunteers plays a huge role in helping us to carry out our conservation mission. From connecting visitors to the zoo by highlighting different threatened species and the conservation actions we’re taking to protect them, to encouraging people to think about how they can make positive changes in their lives for the good of wildlife.
“This award shows that we’re committed to ensuring that our volunteers, both current and future, have the very best experience when they volunteer with us. Having previously become the very first zoo in the UK to achieve this accolade, we’re ever so proud to have achieved it again. We hope that it inspires other organisations who have volunteers to make their volunteering experience a fantastic one too.”
We welcome more than 250 volunteers over the course of a year, across many age groups, supporting our conservation charity in a range of ways.
“Volunteering with Chester Zoo is very important to me. It allows me to play a part in the conservation of wildlife. It would be easy to view volunteering as a one-way ‘give and take’ relationship, but it’s far from it. I gain so much by working with the zoo team – knowledge, skills and a feeling of worth have all been increased during my time with the zoo. The team is so welcoming, encouraging and thoughtful, I could not be volunteering in a better place.”
Philip Alston, one of our amazing volunteers
The Chair of UKVF (the Awarding Body) added:
“UKVF is delighted to announce Chester Zoo’s successful achievement of this award. The zoo has demonstrated a real commitment to volunteering, proving that their volunteer management policies and procedures meet nationally recognised standards.”
