Volunteering Newsletter July 2004

Nick Woodhead discovers that, despite his reservations, the giving of certificates can be a fine way of thanking volunteers.

I used to associate certificate ceremonies with the memory of interminable primary school assemblies: an endless stream of children would trip over other children’s legs to make their way to the front of the school to receive a swimming certificate until there were more children standing up than sitting down, and the enthusiastic clapping that had greeted the first four on the list had long since disappeared and the non-recipients were taking advantage of the teachers’ attention being elsewhere to surreptitiously pinch and punch each other.

Last week was Volunteers’ Week and all over the United Kingdom events were being held to recognize the work carried out by volunteers. It was expected there would be a South Edinburgh Volunteering Awards 2004 ceremony. The format is well established. A couple of guests say some kind words about volunteering. Volunteers who have been nominated by their organisations come out, shake hands with the guests and receive a certificate. People clap and the event is rounded off by a buffet or a bit of cake.

My problem, I realised on reflection, was with “The Certificate”. Do people really want one? Perhaps for the reasons alluded to above, my gut reaction was negative. Might they not be embarrassed? Feel they were being patronised? Why not a candle? A bookmark? Chocolates? A thank you card? Do people want anything at all?

And of course in the end I was way off the mark. The link with primary school swimming certificates is in my head and no-one else’s. Adults get certificates for graduating. Businesses get certificates for meeting standards. And now I come to think of it I am the proud owner of 3 certificates for completing the Edinburgh St Andrew’s Bike Ride (and I still have my 10 yards swimming certificate).

The crux of the matter is that ultimately the actual “gift”, whatever it is, is pretty much irrelevant. What is important is that the recipient knows it is sincere, deserved and not just going through the motions. That it really is a reflection and representation of appreciation.

The Open University course book on Voluntary Sector management says “Probably the single most important way of retaining people’s support and goodwill is to say thank you promptly and to demonstrate that you have noted and valued whatever it is they have contributed.” If volunteers feel that an organisation is going through the motions, rewarding volunteers purely because it is the done thing - part of a “volunteer retention strategy” – it loses its value.
Generally people don’t say thank you enough. The other week I received a postcard from a friend saying “Thank you for listening the other night”. He didn’t need to do it and I of course pointed that out. At the same time I felt inwardly warmed by the fact he’d made an effort. Although a simple “thank you” should be enough, if someone goes out of their way it is a lot more meaningful.

Eventually the decision was taken to award certificates at the South Edinburgh event but to include on them a personal accolade from their volunteer organisers. It showed that people had taken a bit of time, put in a bit of thought, reflected on the person’s contribution.

And if I had any worries about the reaction to certificates they were completely dispelled. I was quite overwhelmed by the level of appreciation. “Thrilled” and “emotional” are words that reflected their feelings. People don’t always see themselves as being special and are taken aback when it is sprung on them.
I recently visited a local project and spoke to the volunteers about why the organisation was so successful in keeping its volunteers. The answer was nothing to do with award ceremonies, certificates and so on. It was because they were made to feel included. They were appreciated. They were noticed. They were respected. As one of them said, there’s no point acknowledging volunteers once a year if you’re taking them for granted the rest of the time.

Celebrating Volunteering

20 Years of Volunteers Week

This year saw the celebration of 20 years of Volunteers Week. A week long celebration of volunteering, which aims to promote innovative ways to thank, recruit and involve volunteers. What did your organisation get up to? How will you ensure that recognizing the work of Scotland’s 1.5 Million Volunteers will be an ongoing commitment, not a once a year occurrence?

To celebrate Volunteers Week 20th Birthday, Volunteer Centre Edinburgh put together an exhibition of twenty volunteer portraits. These were complemented by a selection of real life volunteer stories, both moving and inspiring. Such as Anne, for whom volunteering provided a lifeline after a traumatic breakdown and recovery from cancer. We hope to create a bank of Volunteer Stories that can be used to promote volunteering to the media and the public. If you have a volunteer with a story to tell, please do get in-touch.

Certificate Ceremony

Now a landmark in the Volunteer Centre calendar, the ever popular Volunteers’ Week certificate ceremony. This year we were delighted to be able to hold 2 ceremonies in the city as our new South Edinburgh office hosted its own event on the 28th May at the Northfield House Hotel. Meanwhile the rest of us returned to the City Chambers on the 1st of June to recognise our local heroes.
In keeping with the 20th Anniversary theme, Harriet Eadie, Director of the Volunteer Centre Edinburgh, attended both events to give an overview of how volunteering has evolved since the first Volunteers’ Week celebrations. Guest of Honour, at the City Chambers was the Lord Provost herself, Lesley Hinds who thanked the many thousands of “ordinary” Edinburgh people who give their time freely on a regular basis to support our community. “These people do amazing work and deserve to be publicly recognised for their achievement.”
Writing in the Evening News she says “In my eyes, it’s these legions of volunteers that keep our city running and make Edinburgh a better place to live.”

Back in South Edinburgh it was local MP Nigel Griffiths who did the honours. Between them Lesley & Nigel presented certificates to 106 volunteers representing 44 local organisations.

Open Doors – Open Day

While our doors are open to the public five days a week already, and until 7pm every Thursday, our ‘Open Day’ on the 3rd of June saw an extra push to get members of the public and volunteer involving organisations to visit us and find out more about the range of services on offer.

More than 100 people made the pilgrimage to the Volunteer Centre. A flurry of people descended over lunch time, and more people arrived for the book launch of Mail from the Crypt, by our very own Communications Officer Mark Steven. MP for West Edinburgh John Barrett applauded the book and spoke about how volunteering transformed his own life and developed his political career.

The book is a collection of writings which many people will recognize and remember from Mark’s now infamous e-bulletin introductions. For those of you not familiar with the e-bulletin, it contains valuable volunteering information – on training, conferences, events, and much more – as well as Mark’s musings on life, the world and everything. If you’re not already subscribed to the e-bulletin and would like to receive it please get in-touch with your contact details.
A few copies of the book (a limited print run so hurry!) are still available, and can be bought from Volunteer Centre Edinburgh for £5, with proceeds from the sale of the book going to HIV charity Waverley Care. Best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith writes in his forward to the book “What a pleasure it is to be treated to the pithy, the concise, the little gem of a thought or an observation!”

And, remember, we too welcome your little gems of thoughts, observations and recommendations!

Mentoring Lives

Anyone who works with volunteers will usually tell you about the positive impact volunteering has on people. And rightly so. There is a huge amount of anecdotal information backing up published studies on the benefits of volunteering for volunteers.

28 year-old, Paul was introduced to the Volunteer Centre’s New Deal Employment Mentoring scheme in April this year, whilst attending a New Deal “Gateway to Work” course in Musselburgh and thought that employment mentoring could help him get back to work.

Despite having worked solidly since leaving school, Paul found himself unemployed last September after using cleaning products at work left him with a skin allergy. Although keen to try mentoring Paul was naturally a little unsure of something he hadn’t experienced before.

“ I was wary at first – sitting down with a total stranger – I didn’t know what to expect. But you get to a stage of almost clutching at straws; you accept offers of help when they’re there.”

Paul was introduced to his volunteer mentor Jane shortly after his Gateway to Work course ended. After the first and second meetings Paul became more comfortable with the process and started to get a lot of benefit.

“ I got a lot of good tips from Jane. She has a life experience to draw on which has been really useful for me. It was actually quite humbling – a total stranger was taking the time out of their day, time when they could have just gone home after work rather than meeting me, and spending time helping me.”
Aided by the work he did with his volunteer mentor, Paul is currently waiting to hear back from a potential employer about a position he has been pursuing. During his mentoring, Paul was genuinely touched by the notion of “giving something back” and at the same time gaining new skills, opportunities and experiences. Since ending his mentoring match with Jane, Paul has been into the Volunteer Centre to browse our database of volunteering opportunities, and is keen to start volunteering himself.

A Volunteer's Story

Being a disabled person herself, and the parent of a son with mild learning disabilities, Lizanne Burton seems an obvious person to turn to if you were suddenly told that your child had a disability or health problem that you knew very little about. As a volunteer with Children Inc in Pilton, Lizanne assists parent/carers to find information about diagnoses and conditions, but more importantly, assists with support to families who may find it difficult to contact professionals or feel swamped by red tape.

“ Some parents approach us when their child has just been diagnosed” explains Lizanne. “They may need information about their child’s condition, and we can provide it for them from our resources or by searching the Internet. Other people need help in accessing support. We have a range of books and specialist magazines regarding disabilities as well as information on support groups and services. We have to be careful though that we don’t force information on parents or embarrass them in any way. Not everyone can absorb everything right away.”

Lizanne admits that volunteering with Children Inc has vastly increased her knowledge and awareness. “It’s ironic, but as a disabled person I was surprisingly unaware of many disability issues. Working here I have learnt so much about different conditions and services. Now I regularly answer questions on both! We have also run parenting groups, looking at issues like discipline. It’s really interesting work. What parent doesn’t have problems, whether your child is disabled or not?”

Volunteering with the project has been a great learning experience for Lizanne. “I have received training on subjects like mental health and teenagers’ depression. I’ve learned to use the computer and Internet, attended a residential training on Scottish politics and last year attended a committee meeting of the Scottish Parliament about the European Year of Disabled People.”

Is there anything Lizanne would change about her volunteering? “Definitely transport! It’s great that some of our bus routes have improved and that some have wheelchair accessible buses, but it’s still not enough. I love taking the bus. A bus journey for me is like all my Christmases rolled into one! Through my volunteering I’ve even managed a couple of trips on a train too!”

Volunteering Strategy for Scotland

The new Volunteering Strategy for Scotland was launched with merely a whimper on 11 May. The bang was reserved for the new and shiny Project Scotland, Jack McConnell’s new and very well resourced full time volunteering project for young people. But for most of us the Volunteering Strategy is more important.

It is based on a major consultation exercise and extensive public perceptions surveys carried out by Volunteer Development Scotland over the course of 2003. The messages from volunteers and the public are harsh. Volunteering is under pressure - we must shape up or ship out. Organisations must improve their practice to recruit and retain volunteers. They must value them more, become more flexible and open their doors to a much more diverse group of volunteers. Barriers to involvement, such as not paying expenses, fears of benefit loss and over legislation, must be broken down to remove a huge social gap in terms of who volunteers. An aging population means there will be many fewer people in the 30-44 age group – currently the group most likely to volunteer. So young people currently turned off by volunteering must be engaged to ensure a future for volunteering.

The strategy is a description of evidence and a statement of principles and intent, rather than a menu of actions – and comes with the all too usual caveat – no new money. The lack of a concrete action plan is a gap in the strategy – we would have liked to see more assertive direction from the Executive to other public agencies and departments to make things happen. With a focus on young people volunteering it would have been good to see more mention of support through education. It would have been good to see a commitment to addressing barriers to under 18’s volunteering that are appearing through the Children’s Act. But it does renew the Scottish Executive commitment to volunteering. It contains important values and principles that the Executive have signed up to – so it gives us as volunteer involving agencies a useful tool to lobby for more concrete actions and support.

The Edinburgh Policy Picture

Alongside the national strategy, volunteering has been gaining in significance hugely in the past few years in various Edinburgh policies and strategies – from a position of almost no recognition of the role of volunteering when OneCity was published four years ago.

Perhaps concern that numbers of volunteers may be diminishing (not something that the Volunteer Centre has observed overall) has raised awareness of the value of volunteers to the city. Increase in voluntary activity is one of Edinburgh’s Social Justice Milestones. The draft Joint Health Improvement Plan has Improving Social Capital as a key intervention - with increasing diversity in volunteering as one of the key measurements for this. The new draft Edinburgh Compact - that all the Community Planning partners are signing up to - has as an action point developing a volunteering strategy for Edinburgh.

The Volunteer Centre is delighted that Volunteering seems at last to be on policy agendas – but we are also slightly wary. On the ground we work with hundreds of volunteer involving organisations delivering high quality services, and really good experiences for volunteers. Most of these organisations struggle for funding. Most achieve a great deal with scant resources. And if volunteers are set to become thin on the ground – so is funding. The anticipated halving of social inclusion funding to the city looms over many currently SIP supported volunteering projects. No one at the policy tables mentions volunteering as a cheap social inclusion option. But none of the strategies and policies ever mention investing in volunteering. We don’t want to find an Edinburgh with lots of fine words about volunteering but fewer agencies around able to involve volunteers.

The Scottish Executive Volunteering Strategy

Aim: Volunteering is a fundamental building block of civil society. The Scottish Executive aims to enable leaders within the volunteering and other sectors throughout Scotland to unite as partners to promote and support effective volunteering, accessible to all.

The Key themes –

1. Young people

Most current volunteers first started volunteering when they were school age. In order to maintain a continuing supply of volunteers in an aging population more young people must be engaged now.

2. Inclusion

More than twice as many people from well off groups volunteer than from less well off groups. This social divide starts from school age and continues though life. The strategy aims to reduce this opportunity gap by dismantling barriers to inclusion.

3. Improving the Volunteering Experience

Many volunteers report a lack of welcome, information, support and development by the agencies they choose to help. The strategy suggests increased emphasis on good management of volunteers to encourage recruitment and retention.

4. Monitoring, Evaluation and Policy Development

There is a need for better mechanisms to measure outcomes of volunteering, and a need for the value of volunteering to be better

Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) - Update

October 2004 will see the final sections of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) come into force. The biggest impacts will be the abolition of the small employer threshold, and the duty to make reasonable adjustments to the physical features of your premises to overcome physical barriers to access.

Providing a volunteer placement, can be construed as providing a service and therefore efforts should be made to make sure each volunteering opportunity is as accessible as possible to people with disabilities as well. This may involve making reasonable adjustments, or providing a service by another means to reduce barriers.

Information and advice on good practice is available from:

Open for All – a campaign to raise awareness and understanding of these new access laws www.Open4All.org and The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) www.drc-gb.org or call the DRC Helpline on 08457 622 633

Mail from the Crypt

Mail from the Crypt, by Mark Steven, the Volunteer Centre’s Communications Officer, is a collection of writings that were originally sent as introductory text in emails to Edinburgh’s volunteer involving organisations.

The book features a foreword by Alexander McCall Smith, best-selling author of The No1 Ladies Detective Agency Series.

Get a copy

Copies cost £5. To get your copy drop in to Volunteer Centre Edinburgh, 45 Queensferry Street Lane, Edinburgh, EH2 4PF, call 0131 225 0630 to order a copy or buy online at www.workwithus.org.

The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of Volunteer Centre Edinburgh.


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Newsletter July 2004
Volunteering find opportunities about volunteering support + advice young people new deal mentoring volunteer overseas Services your organisation register opportunities info + resources training + events help with CCI/CSR team volunteering young persons support + advice team referrals About intro / contact aims people thanks annual reports membership this website Other vol. centre network imagebank links news search vacancies	Image » South Edinburgh volunteers are recognised for their volunteering. This issue: Certified Behaviour The giving of certificates Celebrating Volunteering The 20th Volunteers Week Mentoring Lives A case study A Volunteer’s Story First hand account Volunteering Strategy for Scotland The government’s new way Disability Discrimination Act Update Mail from the Crypt Buy the book! Certified Behaviour Nick Woodhead discovers that, despite his reservations, the giving of certificates can be a fine way of thanking volunteers. I used to associate certificate ceremonies with the memory of interminable primary school assemblies: an endless stream of children would trip over other children’s legs to make their way to the front of the school to receive a swimming certificate until there were more children standing up than sitting down, and the enthusiastic clapping that had greeted the first four on the list had long since disappeared and the non-recipients were taking advantage of the teachers’ attention being elsewhere to surreptitiously pinch and punch each other. Last week was Volunteers’ Week and all over the United Kingdom events were being held to recognize the work carried out by volunteers. It was expected there would be a South Edinburgh Volunteering Awards 2004 ceremony. The format is well established. A couple of guests say some kind words about volunteering. Volunteers who have been nominated by their organisations come out, shake hands with the guests and receive a certificate. People clap and the event is rounded off by a buffet or a bit of cake. My problem, I realised on reflection, was with “The Certificate”. Do people really want one? Perhaps for the reasons alluded to above, my gut reaction was negative. Might they not be embarrassed? Feel they were being patronised? Why not a candle? A bookmark? Chocolates? A thank you card? Do people want anything at all? And of course in the end I was way off the mark. The link with primary school swimming certificates is in my head and no-one else’s. Adults get certificates for graduating. Businesses get certificates for meeting standards. And now I come to think of it I am the proud owner of 3 certificates for completing the Edinburgh St Andrew’s Bike Ride (and I still have my 10 yards swimming certificate). The crux of the matter is that ultimately the actual “gift”, whatever it is, is pretty much irrelevant. What is important is that the recipient knows it is sincere, deserved and not just going through the motions. That it really is a reflection and representation of appreciation. The Open University course book on Voluntary Sector management says “Probably the single most important way of retaining people’s support and goodwill is to say thank you promptly and to demonstrate that you have noted and valued whatever it is they have contributed.” If volunteers feel that an organisation is going through the motions, rewarding volunteers purely because it is the done thing - part of a “volunteer retention strategy” – it loses its value. Generally people don’t say thank you enough. The other week I received a postcard from a friend saying “Thank you for listening the other night”. He didn’t need to do it and I of course pointed that out. At the same time I felt inwardly warmed by the fact he’d made an effort. Although a simple “thank you” should be enough, if someone goes out of their way it is a lot more meaningful. Eventually the decision was taken to award certificates at the South Edinburgh event but to include on them a personal accolade from their volunteer organisers. It showed that people had taken a bit of time, put in a bit of thought, reflected on the person’s contribution. And if I had any worries about the reaction to certificates they were completely dispelled. I was quite overwhelmed by the level of appreciation. “Thrilled” and “emotional” are words that reflected their feelings. People don’t always see themselves as being special and are taken aback when it is sprung on them. I recently visited a local project and spoke to the volunteers about why the organisation was so successful in keeping its volunteers. The answer was nothing to do with award ceremonies, certificates and so on. It was because they were made to feel included. They were appreciated. They were noticed. They were respected. As one of them said, there’s no point acknowledging volunteers once a year if you’re taking them for granted the rest of the time. ^top Celebrating Volunteering 20 Years of Volunteers Week This year saw the celebration of 20 years of Volunteers Week. A week long celebration of volunteering, which aims to promote innovative ways to thank, recruit and involve volunteers. What did your organisation get up to? How will you ensure that recognizing the work of Scotland’s 1.5 Million Volunteers will be an ongoing commitment, not a once a year occurrence? To celebrate Volunteers Week 20th Birthday, Volunteer Centre Edinburgh put together an exhibition of twenty volunteer portraits. These were complemented by a selection of real life volunteer stories, both moving and inspiring. Such as Anne, for whom volunteering provided a lifeline after a traumatic breakdown and recovery from cancer. We hope to create a bank of Volunteer Stories that can be used to promote volunteering to the media and the public. If you have a volunteer with a story to tell, please do get in-touch. Certificate Ceremony Now a landmark in the Volunteer Centre calendar, the ever popular Volunteers’ Week certificate ceremony. This year we were delighted to be able to hold 2 ceremonies in the city as our new South Edinburgh office hosted its own event on the 28th May at the Northfield House Hotel. Meanwhile the rest of us returned to the City Chambers on the 1st of June to recognise our local heroes. In keeping with the 20th Anniversary theme, Harriet Eadie, Director of the Volunteer Centre Edinburgh, attended both events to give an overview of how volunteering has evolved since the first Volunteers’ Week celebrations. Guest of Honour, at the City Chambers was the Lord Provost herself, Lesley Hinds who thanked the many thousands of “ordinary” Edinburgh people who give their time freely on a regular basis to support our community. “These people do amazing work and deserve to be publicly recognised for their achievement.” Writing in the Evening News she says “In my eyes, it’s these legions of volunteers that keep our city running and make Edinburgh a better place to live.” Back in South Edinburgh it was local MP Nigel Griffiths who did the honours. Between them Lesley & Nigel presented certificates to 106 volunteers representing 44 local organisations. Open Doors – Open Day While our doors are open to the public five days a week already, and until 7pm every Thursday, our ‘Open Day’ on the 3rd of June saw an extra push to get members of the public and volunteer involving organisations to visit us and find out more about the range of services on offer. More than 100 people made the pilgrimage to the Volunteer Centre. A flurry of people descended over lunch time, and more people arrived for the book launch of Mail from the Crypt, by our very own Communications Officer Mark Steven. MP for West Edinburgh John Barrett applauded the book and spoke about how volunteering transformed his own life and developed his political career. The book is a collection of writings which many people will recognize and remember from Mark’s now infamous e-bulletin introductions. For those of you not familiar with the e-bulletin, it contains valuable volunteering information – on training, conferences, events, and much more – as well as Mark’s musings on life, the world and everything. If you’re not already subscribed to the e-bulletin and would like to receive it please get in-touch with your contact details. A few copies of the book (a limited print run so hurry!) are still available, and can be bought from Volunteer Centre Edinburgh for £5, with proceeds from the sale of the book going to HIV charity Waverley Care. Best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith writes in his forward to the book “What a pleasure it is to be treated to the pithy, the concise, the little gem of a thought or an observation!” And, remember, we too welcome your little gems of thoughts, observations and recommendations! ^top Mentoring Lives Anyone who works with volunteers will usually tell you about the positive impact volunteering has on people. And rightly so. There is a huge amount of anecdotal information backing up published studies on the benefits of volunteering for volunteers. 28 year-old, Paul was introduced to the Volunteer Centre’s New Deal Employment Mentoring scheme in April this year, whilst attending a New Deal “Gateway to Work” course in Musselburgh and thought that employment mentoring could help him get back to work. Despite having worked solidly since leaving school, Paul found himself unemployed last September after using cleaning products at work left him with a skin allergy. Although keen to try mentoring Paul was naturally a little unsure of something he hadn’t experienced before. “ I was wary at first – sitting down with a total stranger – I didn’t know what to expect. But you get to a stage of almost clutching at straws; you accept offers of help when they’re there.” Paul was introduced to his volunteer mentor Jane shortly after his Gateway to Work course ended. After the first and second meetings Paul became more comfortable with the process and started to get a lot of benefit. “ I got a lot of good tips from Jane. She has a life experience to draw on which has been really useful for me. It was actually quite humbling – a total stranger was taking the time out of their day, time when they could have just gone home after work rather than meeting me, and spending time helping me.” Aided by the work he did with his volunteer mentor, Paul is currently waiting to hear back from a potential employer about a position he has been pursuing. During his mentoring, Paul was genuinely touched by the notion of “giving something back” and at the same time gaining new skills, opportunities and experiences. Since ending his mentoring match with Jane, Paul has been into the Volunteer Centre to browse our database of volunteering opportunities, and is keen to start volunteering himself. Steven Piercey ^top A Volunteer's Story Being a disabled person herself, and the parent of a son with mild learning disabilities, Lizanne Burton seems an obvious person to turn to if you were suddenly told that your child had a disability or health problem that you knew very little about. As a volunteer with Children Inc in Pilton, Lizanne assists parent/carers to find information about diagnoses and conditions, but more importantly, assists with support to families who may find it difficult to contact professionals or feel swamped by red tape. “ Some parents approach us when their child has just been diagnosed” explains Lizanne. “They may need information about their child’s condition, and we can provide it for them from our resources or by searching the Internet. Other people need help in accessing support. We have a range of books and specialist magazines regarding disabilities as well as information on support groups and services. We have to be careful though that we don’t force information on parents or embarrass them in any way. Not everyone can absorb everything right away.” Lizanne admits that volunteering with Children Inc has vastly increased her knowledge and awareness. “It’s ironic, but as a disabled person I was surprisingly unaware of many disability issues. Working here I have learnt so much about different conditions and services. Now I regularly answer questions on both! We have also run parenting groups, looking at issues like discipline. It’s really interesting work. What parent doesn’t have problems, whether your child is disabled or not?” Volunteering with the project has been a great learning experience for Lizanne. “I have received training on subjects like mental health and teenagers’ depression. I’ve learned to use the computer and Internet, attended a residential training on Scottish politics and last year attended a committee meeting of the Scottish Parliament about the European Year of Disabled People.” Is there anything Lizanne would change about her volunteering? “Definitely transport! It’s great that some of our bus routes have improved and that some have wheelchair accessible buses, but it’s still not enough. I love taking the bus. A bus journey for me is like all my Christmases rolled into one! Through my volunteering I’ve even managed a couple of trips on a train too!” ^top Volunteering Strategy for Scotland The new Volunteering Strategy for Scotland was launched with merely a whimper on 11 May. The bang was reserved for the new and shiny Project Scotland, Jack McConnell’s new and very well resourced full time volunteering project for young people. But for most of us the Volunteering Strategy is more important. It is based on a major consultation exercise and extensive public perceptions surveys carried out by Volunteer Development Scotland over the course of 2003. The messages from volunteers and the public are harsh. Volunteering is under pressure - we must shape up or ship out. Organisations must improve their practice to recruit and retain volunteers. They must value them more, become more flexible and open their doors to a much more diverse group of volunteers. Barriers to involvement, such as not paying expenses, fears of benefit loss and over legislation, must be broken down to remove a huge social gap in terms of who volunteers. An aging population means there will be many fewer people in the 30-44 age group – currently the group most likely to volunteer. So young people currently turned off by volunteering must be engaged to ensure a future for volunteering. The strategy is a description of evidence and a statement of principles and intent, rather than a menu of actions – and comes with the all too usual caveat – no new money. The lack of a concrete action plan is a gap in the strategy – we would have liked to see more assertive direction from the Executive to other public agencies and departments to make things happen. With a focus on young people volunteering it would have been good to see more mention of support through education. It would have been good to see a commitment to addressing barriers to under 18’s volunteering that are appearing through the Children’s Act. But it does renew the Scottish Executive commitment to volunteering. It contains important values and principles that the Executive have signed up to – so it gives us as volunteer involving agencies a useful tool to lobby for more concrete actions and support. The Edinburgh Policy Picture Alongside the national strategy, volunteering has been gaining in significance hugely in the past few years in various Edinburgh policies and strategies – from a position of almost no recognition of the role of volunteering when OneCity was published four years ago. Perhaps concern that numbers of volunteers may be diminishing (not something that the Volunteer Centre has observed overall) has raised awareness of the value of volunteers to the city. Increase in voluntary activity is one of Edinburgh’s Social Justice Milestones. The draft Joint Health Improvement Plan has Improving Social Capital as a key intervention - with increasing diversity in volunteering as one of the key measurements for this. The new draft Edinburgh Compact - that all the Community Planning partners are signing up to - has as an action point developing a volunteering strategy for Edinburgh. The Volunteer Centre is delighted that Volunteering seems at last to be on policy agendas – but we are also slightly wary. On the ground we work with hundreds of volunteer involving organisations delivering high quality services, and really good experiences for volunteers. Most of these organisations struggle for funding. Most achieve a great deal with scant resources. And if volunteers are set to become thin on the ground – so is funding. The anticipated halving of social inclusion funding to the city looms over many currently SIP supported volunteering projects. No one at the policy tables mentions volunteering as a cheap social inclusion option. But none of the strategies and policies ever mention investing in volunteering. We don’t want to find an Edinburgh with lots of fine words about volunteering but fewer agencies around able to involve volunteers. The Scottish Executive Volunteering Strategy Aim: Volunteering is a fundamental building block of civil society. The Scottish Executive aims to enable leaders within the volunteering and other sectors throughout Scotland to unite as partners to promote and support effective volunteering, accessible to all. The Key themes – 1. Young people Most current volunteers first started volunteering when they were school age. In order to maintain a continuing supply of volunteers in an aging population more young people must be engaged now. 2. Inclusion More than twice as many people from well off groups volunteer than from less well off groups. This social divide starts from school age and continues though life. The strategy aims to reduce this opportunity gap by dismantling barriers to inclusion. 3. Improving the Volunteering Experience Many volunteers report a lack of welcome, information, support and development by the agencies they choose to help. The strategy suggests increased emphasis on good management of volunteers to encourage recruitment and retention. 4. Monitoring, Evaluation and Policy Development There is a need for better mechanisms to measure outcomes of volunteering, and a need for the value of volunteering to be better Harriet Eadie More information is available at www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/social/vost-00.asp or on the Volunteer Development Scotland website: www.vds.org.uk ^top Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) - Update October 2004 will see the final sections of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) come into force. The biggest impacts will be the abolition of the small employer threshold, and the duty to make reasonable adjustments to the physical features of your premises to overcome physical barriers to access. Providing a volunteer placement, can be construed as providing a service and therefore efforts should be made to make sure each volunteering opportunity is as accessible as possible to people with disabilities as well. This may involve making reasonable adjustments, or providing a service by another means to reduce barriers. Information and advice on good practice is available from: Open for All – a campaign to raise awareness and understanding of these new access laws www.Open4All.org and The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) www.drc-gb.org or call the DRC Helpline on 08457 622 633 Mail from the Crypt Mail from the Crypt, by Mark Steven, the Volunteer Centre’s Communications Officer, is a collection of writings that were originally sent as introductory text in emails to Edinburgh’s volunteer involving organisations. The book features a foreword by Alexander McCall Smith, best-selling author of The No1 Ladies Detective Agency Series. Proceeds from the sale of the book go to Waverley Care, an HIV / AIDS charity. Get a copy Copies cost £5. To get your copy drop in to Volunteer Centre Edinburgh, 45 Queensferry Street Lane, Edinburgh, EH2 4PF, call 0131 225 0630 to order a copy or buy online at www.workwithus.org. The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of Volunteer Centre Edinburgh. Please send all contributions to mark.steven@volunteeredinburgh.org.uk.
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Newsletter July 2004

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Certified Behaviour