Instructions for friend service volunteers

Electronic friend service support clinics for branches:

The support clinics will be organized via Teams, and you can join here.

No advanced registration is required; if you want a reminder of the event, please sign up via the clinic's Oma event.

Info video recording on branch grants 23.2.2926 (in Finnish)

Materials for the Friend Service Volunteers' Days 17.1.2026
The slides for the Coordinator Days can be found here. (in Finnish)

Instructions for using the electronic matching system:

The support pages for the electronic matching system can be found here.
Please seek help with using the matching system primarily from your district worker.
You can also request support by email at yvtuki@redcross.fi

Access rights for friend service volunteers

The district worker grants and removes the access rights of the responsible coordinator. The responsible coordinator can grant matching rights to other friend service volunteers within their own branch.
The responsible coordinator's task is to ensure that access rights are kept up to date. You can check the matching rights in the coordination management view.

Data protection in the friend service

Tietosuojaseloste, ystävätoiminnan asiakkaat.pdf (data protection guidelines in Finnish)
Sähköisen ystävävälityksen tietosuojaohje 2026.pdf (Data protection guidelines for the electronic friend service in Finnish)

Number of clients and volunteers involved in the activities

The electronic friend service system supports statistics by calculating the number of volunteers and clients involved in the activities. The information of clients and volunteers who have left the activities can be permanently deleted from the system, as the figure updates automatically. The statistics tool can be used by the responsible volunteers of the services, and it can be found in the coordination management view.

Number of meetings in one-to-one friendships

Meetings of one-to-one friend pairs do not need to be recorded in statistics, as the number of meetings is estimated according to the number of active friend pairs involved in the activities. If you do not use the electronic matching system but you have friend pair activities, please keep records manually and submit the information to your own district worker at the end of the year.

Statistics for group activities

For groups, it is important to use the friend group feature found in the matching system. A separate group is created for each group (e.g. service home visitors), and the volunteers and clients involved are added to the group. Volunteers and clients added to groups are automatically included in the group activity statistics. Unregistered clients added to groups are also included in the statistics when you use the new activity type "unregistered clients" in the matching system. Add the number of unregistered clients in the group to this section, and this way they will also be included in the statistics!

It is a good idea to include in the group description a description of the activity, meeting times, etc., for the information of all friend service volunteers, so that new clients can also be directed to the group activities.

The number of meetings in group activities is reported using this shared form or the general event report (check the instructions from your district). Reporting can be done either after each session or, for example, several months at a time.

Centralized data collection on friendships

Twice a year, the central office sends a survey to all friend pairs in active friendship. The survey is sent by email to those clients and volunteers who have a registered email address in the matching system.

When a friendship ends, we hope that both the client and the volunteer would fill in this form: https://spr.fi/palauteystavyys A friend service volunteer can also fill in the form on behalf of the volunteer or client.

The survey does not distinguish between respondents in the areas of different branches or districts; instead, it maps experiences of friend activities and their impact, as well as the reasons for the ending of friendships. The survey therefore does not replace the check-in surveys carried out by the services. The survey's cover message reminds respondents to contact their own service if they need support with a friendship or if a friendship has ended.

Friend service volunteers are informed of the survey results annually.

The Amity within Red Cross guide helps in resolving problem situations and inappropriate behavior in volunteering activities.

Protection within the Red Cross

Friend service team

When the friend service team consists of several people, responsibility and workload are shared among the group, and matters can be shared and developed together. In larger services, the team can have its own coordinators for different groups, allowing you to work with exactly the kind of people who interest you. The attachments below contain tips for forming a service team.

Mentor model for friend activities

The development of the mentor model and mentor training has arisen from the need to provide friend service volunteers with a work partner who supports volunteer friends in their volunteer role and organizes peer support meetings for volunteers. Training material has been created for the mentor model, along with a guide for the content of volunteers' peer support meetings, both of which can be found in the attachments below.

Vinkkejä välitystiimin perustamiseen (in Finnish)
Mentorimalli ja vertaistukitapaamisten sisällöt ja muistilista.pdf (in Finnish)

Friend service volunteer's non-disclosure commitment and confidentiality

High-quality and reliable friend service requires the confidentiality of friend service volunteers, both in matters concerning those in need of help and other volunteers, as well as regarding information obtained through cooperation. The friend service processes personal data, some of which is sensitive, such as information concerning health status.

Confidentiality is regulated by several different laws. These laws may become applicable even when the actor is a volunteer.

In the role of a friend service volunteer, you commit to always acting in accordance with the principles of the Red Cross, the ground rules of friend activities, and the general principles of volunteer work.

Every volunteer participating in helping tasks is bound by confidentiality. The obligation of confidentiality applies to situations seen and heard, as well as to the identity of those helped. The obligation of confidentiality applies to the volunteer also after their volunteering has ended.

In their role, the friend service volunteer commits to following the Finnish Red Cross's ethical guidelines for volunteers: You can find the ethical guidelines here.
Read more about the volunteer's obligation of confidentiality here (in Finnish).
The activities of friend services are guided by the following data protection statements and instructions (all in Finnish):
Volunteers and friend activity clients have the right to see the information and records concerning themselves. All requests must be sent to: tietosuoja@redcross.fi

The ground rules of friend activities are covered during the friend course; however, it is good to review them when you interview a friend volunteer. The ground rules guide the activities, and it is good to remind both volunteers and clients of this.

The Rules of Friend Activities.pdf

When you interview a client, you can use these supporting questions. Always remember to also go through the ground rules of friend activities. When a client has been in contact hoping to receive a friend, the request should be responded to within a reasonable time, approximately within two weeks.

Friend activity client basic information form (the same as in the electronic matching system):

Instructions for friend service volunteers

Instructions