Volunteering – why bother?

As you consider whether volunteering is for you, as the beacon authorities did in this programme, you will undoubtedly come up against the question – why bother?

The reasoning is often centred around the drivers and benefits. In ‘Doers and Shapers’ (DMU, 2009) the drivers included.

• The need to make the Youth Offer a reality, often with a ‘pledge’ or ‘charter’ about what young people might expect, as indicated in the national guidelines on Positive Activities for Young People (DCSF,2008).
• The significant changes involved in developing a Strategic Plan for Children and Young People and the requirement that the planning cycles informing Children’s Trusts should enable children and young people to be involved at different levels (HM Government, 2006).
• Hear by Right and the need for the Council itself to involve young people pro-actively in democracy and decision-making influenced several partnerships (Wade et al, 2001).
• Devolution was an issue for some areas with a need to involve young people more in mechanisms such as community area forums and to reduce the tensions and lack of understanding between adults and young people at local level.
• In some authorities particular services had made requests for ‘customer’ feedback such as libraries, Primary Care Trusts, or criminal justice agencies.
• One partnership was involved in a move to unitary authority status and local government reorganisation. There was a perceived need to ensure that young people had a position in the planning and delivery of services in the new scenario.
• Another partnership was concerned about the profile of local authority staff, especially in terms of age and ethnicity. There is a need to ensure a continuity of entrants to local government of appropriate diversity.

Move evidence of why volunteering delivers results can be found in the learning and evidence section >>

Life stories

If you are in any doubt about the benefits that might be achieved for those involved, read the stories of two young people involved in the programme.

‘Mark’

‘Mark’ became involved with a Youth Parliament and took part in a scheme to inspect services. As a result of childhood disease he lost both legs, one arm and the fingers from his other hand. He very much wanted to ‘be heard’ and felt that his education had suffered because of attending a special school and of the stigma it carried.

During the project he became involved on equal terms with young people who did not have physical disabilities and felt it was ‘nice to be accepted’. He initiated a major debate for young people about proposed closures of special needs schools and mainstream integration.

In the words of the worker who supported him on the project; “most of his life he has been told, ‘You can’t or you shouldn’t because of your disability and you might hurt yourself’. However he has now realised he CAN DO things.” In Mark’s own words in an interview with one of the researchers, “I have been in a special school most of my life and have not had confidence. I hadn’t met ‘normal’ young people. But I’ve known [the worker] for four to five years and I got involved with the Youth Parliament and [this project] and made lifelong friends – out of it. I might get a house with ‘Jason’ from this group. We’ve been on residentials and I don’t want things to be set up all around me…we were going to do stuff like bird watching, just because of me, so I could join in, but I didn’t want that. Instead I did it, did it on my knees, crawled, and jumped, and fell - because I don’t have legs, but I did it…and everyone was jumping into the water and the staff didn’t want me to join in, and didn’t think I could swim, but I showed them I could. I was one of the strongest swimmers in the group. This has changed the attitude of staff a bit – not just seeing people like me as disabled… I realised I’m not ‘disabled’, I’m ‘abled’ – able to do so much.”

‘Yvette’

‘Yvette’ had to overcome a variety of issues to attend her placement and managed to do this with the support of the project team and the host department. Her commitment impressed the staff and they explored the possibilities of part-time work for her in the cafe.

Yvette feels her confidence has improved, as she had struggled with her communication skills in the past, and when she was not able to express herself clearly became very angry. “My confidence around others is growing. And I’m not embarrassed to ask things.” This was supported by the fact that admitting to her supervisor that she had some previous offences, she now felt trusted. She was also pleased to be given an element of responsibility, for instance, in bringing in recipes that could be made in the coffee shop. She said she felt valued for who she is for the first time in her life and did not want to let people down. “I have been very proud of what I have learnt.”

Throughout the placement, her self-esteem and aspirations were being raised and she was taking steps to achieve her goals. With the support of the project worker, she assessed her own learning needs for the future and enrolled on a Basic English and Maths course to improve her literacy and numeracy. She has now secured a place at catering college and started the course. “I wouldn’t have gone to get my maths and English if the project worker hadn’t sorted it.”

Several factors were vital in contributing to this success: the extra support and encouragement from the project workers, particularly on personal issues outside the placement; the understanding of the host department and its willingness to adapt in the light of the needs; practical financial support in terms of travel expenses and uniform costs arranged in advance.

[Case studies submitted by Beacon Authorities: permission for use is acknowledged with thanks.]