JVN is pleased to announce the launch of its new website. We’re at the same old address – www.jvn.org.uk – but our bold new look is a result of months of careful planning in order to create an online portal for volunteering that is fresh, easy to use and responsive to the ever-changing world of the Jewish volunteering community.
The idea for a new website originated in August 2013 upon the publication of “The Door to Knock On”, a research report about JVN five years after its founding. The report, written by JVN Advisory Board member Professor Margaret Harris, was commissioned in order to better understand how well JVN meets the needs of the Jewish community in the UK in relation to volunteering. Professor Harris, a professional in volunteer research, used focus group discussions between individual volunteers and organisations that use JVN’s services to reach her conclusions.
The report noted several observations about the JVN website. Particularly prominent opinions from participants were that it could be more user-friendly and could have greater data collection capabilities. Consequently, a major overhaul began, to create a vibrant new feel for the site while at the same time protecting its core purpose of matching volunteers to volunteering opportunities.
There are several new and improved features to the site, too many to mention here. But the first and most noticeable change is in the layout of the homepage itself. Rather than having to scroll down to view banners and news articles, everything that you need to see is now available without any need for scrolling or clicking in a maximised browser window. The boxes at the top of the page signpost clearly where to go to search for volunteering opportunities, post opportunities for volunteers to view and become a JVN member.
The website also allows easier navigation, especially for volunteers seeking information about JVN or the different types of volunteering on offer, and for organisations wishing to review their volunteering opportunities and access many additional resources. Searching for opportunities is also easier and simpler, and the spacious feel to the site allows for much more advice and information from JVN and external sites to be made available to potential volunteers and charity sector professionals alike, at just the click of a mouse. Individuals and charities can now create their own account with personalised options, and they can log in via Facebook to manage all their volunteering affairs.
All in all, we believe that the JVN website has a much more user-friendly design and is much more useful for volunteers and organisations. It presents a whole new array of tools and functions for individuals and organisations within the Jewish community and charity sectors to employ whilst safeguarding the outstanding service JVN has always provided of matching volunteers to volunteering opportunities.
But don’t take our word for it – judge for yourself! Go to www.jvn.org.uk and login or create your account to see what our new site has to offer – it’s live now. We’re certain you’ll like it, though any feedback will of course be very welcome. Hopefully our new website will help us maintain JVN’s excellent reputation as one of the Jewish community’s most important assets. We hope it will be the start of a new chapter for volunteering in the community.
