Children on the Edge - Volunteer Privacy Policy

Children on the Edge respect your right to privacy and work to ensure that any data that we have recorded from our volunteers and supporters is both protected and used appropriately. This means the following: 

We only collect contact information with your consent 

You may give your information in an email, when you call the office or via our website forms (for example when you sign-up for an event or request to go on our volunteer mailing list). These forms only ever ask for details to help us target volunteer requests (eg location) and to enable us to contact you quickly and easily when volunteering opportunities arise. Your details are then securely stored electronically. 
We may occasionally request some extra information like how you heard about us, or what inspired you to get involved, but this will be purely voluntary.
Our cookies don’t invade your privacy 

Our website automatically uses cookies. A cookie is a small text file of letters and numbers that gets put onto your computer when you visit most websites. It allows the site to distinguish you from other users. A cookie isn't a computer programme, it can’t carry a virus, install malware or read your files. It is primarily there to give you a more personalised experience online. We have a clear ‘pop up’ on the site to inform you of the use of cookies so you can opt out via your browser if you choose to. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.aboutcookies.org.

We use cookies to:

Analyse and improve our website, services, products or information we provide to you. To reach you and identify other similar people like you on social media who we believe would be interested in Children on the Edge, and to show them Children on the Edge content. If you don’t want to see targeted advertising from us on social media, please refer to the instructions provided
by the specific social media website or app, for example on Facebook and Instagram.

We occasionally use Google Analytics, who have their own, strict Privacy Shield. Google Analytics is only accessed by one or two trusted members of staff. Our use of the service means that when you visit our website, it automatically collects some technical information about your session. This includes the Internet Protocol (IP) address that connects your device to the internet, the type of device you use, your browser, geographic area, whether you made a donation and from where you have arrived at our site. This information is completely anonymous (i.e. we can’t identify you as individual) and it simply enables us to get a general idea about how the website is used and where improvements can be made. 

We also occasionally use Hotjar in order to better understand our users’ needs and to optimise this service and experience. Hotjar is a technology service that helps us better understand our users’ experience (e.g. how much time they spend on which pages, which links they choose to click, what users do and don’t like, etc.) and this enables us to build and maintain our service with user feedback. Hotjar uses cookies and other technologies to collect data on our users’ behaviour and their devices. This includes a device's IP address (processed during your session and stored in a de-identified form), device screen size, device type (unique device identifiers), browser information, geographic location (country only), and the preferred language used to display our website. Hotjar stores this information on our behalf in a pseudonymized user profile. Hotjar is contractually forbidden to sell any of the data collected on our behalf. For further details, please see the ‘about Hotjar’ section of Hotjar’s support site.

All interactions and payments that happen on our website are secure. Our website has a certified Secure Socket Layers (SSL) certificate, which is the standard security technology for creating an encrypted link between a browser and a web server, making sure that data sent between the web server and browsers remain private and secure. 

We won’t spam you or cold call you 

Any personal details collected are used only to further our work with vulnerable children. This could be in the following ways, depending on what you have signed up for:

- Communicating with you about our work and how to support it 
- Allocating volunteering tasks and responsibilities 
- Inviting you to volunteering events 
- Getting your feedback on that communication. 

We send emailed updates around twice a year to volunteers. Every update we send you will have an unsubscribe link at the bottom where you can remove yourself from the list with just a few clicks. We currently use Mailchimp, who have very strict rules when it comes to ‘spamming’ and a comprehensive Privacy Policy of their own. 

We keep your information safe 

We never sell or share your data with third parties for commercial use, and we do not pass it on to third parties to bother you on our behalf. 

Any time you want to check or amend your personal data, just call the office on 01243 538530 and we’ll be happy to help.
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This policy is effective from 1st May 2018 and was last updated on 9th January 2024.

We may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes.