Community Learning Development Resource 501 – 06
COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERING
SUMMARY
One of the core strands of work within priority areas of deprivation, is enabling individuals to build their own capacity through voluntary participation in neighbourhood action and community development activities – as ‘community volunteers’. These volunteers, while having opportunities and supported access to volunteer more widely, characteristically choose to do their volunteering within their own neighbourhood or community. Their needs and wants in relation to their volunteering should be initially addressed within their own local environment, until they feel able and motivated to choose to progress further.
We believe that we are seeking to engage with ‘non-traditional’ volunteers
Our experience within the Voluntary Community Sector (VCS) suggests to us that traditionally relatively few volunteers are recruited from deprived neighbourhoods and communities.
Our belief is that most ‘traditional’ volunteers recruited within established VCS volunteering arrangements are individuals capable and confident enough to choose to self-refer themselves to VCS agencies. We believe that if the VCS were to profile their sector volunteer population, it would be found that very few volunteers come from priority neighbourhoods and communities.
We also believe that ‘traditional’ (VCS) methods of recruiting, inducting, training, placing and supporting volunteers are inappropriate for the non-confident, non-self-referring people found in priority areas. Such methods do not generally recognise their needs and wants which prompt ‘first-steps’ support, encouragement and learning before they are ready to choose to engage as volunteers – they have learning journeys to complete before they are ready to volunteer.
We believe that we should recognise and develop volunteering differently – for individuals who feel oppressed, excluded or experience deprivation – through a targeted ‘community volunteering’ strategy.
What might they also need from volunteering:
– being able to volunteer within their own neighbourhood or community
– safety, security, support and comfort
– recognition – feeling appreciated
– potential access to other opportunities – employment, training, volunteering, etc.
– power and influence
– to contribute to quality of life improvements, capacity building, enrichment initiatives, etc.
– success leading to growth in self-esteem, self-confidence, sense of self-worth, etc.
What barriers and hurdles might be in the way of them successfully volunteering?
– Access to appropriate opportunities
– Access without support and enabling – possibly needing advocacy/buddying/’hand-holding’
– Access distance to enter volunteering systems – not in neighbourhood
– Unfamiliar processes – the demands of ‘traditional’ volunteering requirements –
identification/registration; approval; placement search – formality and bureaucracy
– Out of comfort zone, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of being tested.
What are people volunteering from priority areas entitled to?
– Access to quality of life improvement experiences
– Freedom to choose – their options and choices
– Potential to build their individual capacity through learning from their experiences
– Access to enabling, encouragement and support from workers and agencies
– Equality of opportunity within volunteering systems and arrangements
– Feeling good about what they are doing for others
– Access to appropriate volunteering opportunities.
A targeted community volunteering strategy should:
- be inclusive and accessible
- address identified needs and wants
- tackle and overcome the barriers and constraints experienced by people
- be an entitlement model
- build individual, collective and community capacity.