Volunteering

A national programme encouraging the highest standards of volunteer management is celebrating 10 years of helping charities and other organisations across the UK to enhance their work.

Investing in Volunteers (IiV) – the UK quality standard for good practice by groups involving volunteers – has been achieved by 765 organisations, including charities such as Christian Aid, Age UK and the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), as well as more than 20 NHS Trusts.

Helping jobless people to volunteer could be the key to reducing unemployment, a new report published today argues.

Volunteering can give people the skills and confidence needed to help them find jobs, according to the charity representative body, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO).

The experiences of people who give their time through employer-organised or employer-supported activities, known as employer-supporter volunteering (ESV), are positive but lag behind those who arrange their own volunteering, a new report from NCVO finds.

The research shows that 39% of ESV volunteers reported being 'very satisfied' against 56% of non-ESV volunteers. It suggests that focusing on the quality of the experience of workplace volunteers tends to be less of a priority for the organisations involved than it would be for other forms of volunteering.

Good Gym combines doing good with running and getting fit. Volunteers stop off on runs to do physical tasks for community organisations and support isolated older people with social visits and one-off tasks, such as changing a lightbulb, doing some gardening or moving furniture.

Good morning and welcome, everybody. It’s good to see so many of you here today in what we believe is the biggest conference of voluntary organisations that we have ever held.

This week marks the first anniversary of the Step up to Serve campaign, which is committed to doubling the number of young people engaged in social action by 2020. NCVO has pledged its support to this initiative and will shortly be releasing a new guide for organisations interested in involving more young people in volunteering.

Age Concern Luton runs a free 7-day hospital discharge project to support people leaving hospital and returning home. The charity says it has a had a really positive impact on reducing hospital readmission rates for social reasons, particularly for older people living alone.

HOST UK (Hosting for Overseas Students) is a charity that arranges for students from all over the world studying at UK universities to meet and stay at the homes of local volunteers for 2 or 3 nights. Not only do these visits create relationships between two beneficiaries who may never have otherwise crossed paths, it also allows both parties to overcome loneliness and gain new knowledge about other cultures and sometimes build lifelong friendships.

Remap is a charity which helps disabled people live more independent lives. It has a network of hundreds of skilled volunteers who design and custom-make equipment for them. They provide solutions to everyday problems when there is nothing commercially available. They respond to thousands of requests for help every year and provide the service free of charge. 

Circles UKcreates circles of support to prevent sex offenders and sexual harm causers from reoffending. It involves fully trained and professionally supported groups of 4-6 volunteers who regularly meet with a sex offender for a period of between a year and 18 months.

The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) works with thousands of people across the UK, helping them to discover, improve and enjoy their local green spaces and by doing so create happier and healthier communities.

Call&Check is a scheme launched by the Jersey Post Office in which postal workers check on the welfare of more elderly or vulnerable people and pass on any concerns to the individual’s contacts and support network. The government announced in 2018 it was taking up the model to use as part of its loneliness strategy.

Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by other Members of The Royal Family, yesterday gave a reception for charities and volunteers in order to celebrate the achievements of voluntary action over the last century, and highlight the contribution of volunteering to millions of lives in the United Kingdom and throughout the world.

The scale of volunteering in today’s society is remarkable, with one in five people across the UK volunteering on a regular basis, and more than half of the population giving their time in some way at least once a year.

The reception brought together hundreds of members of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). Among them, volunteers of all ages involved in a wide range of social, economic and environmental causes, carrying out tasks from mentoring and befriending, to restoration or gardening, and even life-saving work.

Refugee Radio supports refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants. It runs community projects targeting mental health, isolation and social exclusion. They use radio and music to give a voice to those who do not have one.

Cherished Gowns provides tiny outfits for babies that are stillborn, miscarried or die shortly after birth. There is currently no special or appropriately sized clothing available for them. Cherished Gowns UK provide every UK hospital with a complete outfit containing a precious gown, hat, booties, cloth nappy, and a blanket allowing parents to dress their treasured baby.

Sheffield Hallam Students’ Union runs Think Care Help, a homelessness support project in collaboration with various homelessness services in Sheffield.

Yarrow’s Opening Doors volunteering project matches volunteers with people with learning disabilities with shared interests so they can access sports and arts together. It’s a three year project, funded by City Bridge Trust. They delivered 309 sporting and cultural opportunities to 93 adults with learning disabilities over the course of the year. 

Mercy Ships runs the largest civilian hospital ship in the world, providing free, safe surgery on its hospital ship and in land-based programmes in some of the world’s poorest countries. The charity also trains local medical workers and refurbishes hospitals and clinics in order to leave a legacy of improved healthcare.

Here's a selection of some of the ways volunteers are complementing the work of the NHS. 

Maternity Mates in East London recruit, train and match-up volunteer Maternity Mates with pregnant women in need of extra support in Tower Hamlets, Newham and Waltham Forest, with plans to expand into other London boroughs, and then a nationwide service. 

Suicide Crisis provides innovative services for people who are at risk of suicide, including 24 hour face to face crisis support. It was set up by Joy Hibbins following a traumatic experience of her own which she said showed her that a different type of service was needed for people who were at risk of suicide.