Shutting down

We're exlploring how we might use blogs in the future, but for the time being this blog is not being updated.

For our latest news please visit the do-it website.

Volunteers as employees court case

The RNLI and the Scout Association are facing lawsuits from volunteers that could put the sector's reliance on unpaid workers at risk.

The RNLI is facing three lawsuits, with a further two threatened, from volunteers claiming unfair dismissal.

More from Third Sector.

As the status of volunteer is not defined in law, there has always been the possibility that volunteers could claim that their legal relationship is that of an employee. Volunteering England has some useful information on the subject in a statement about the impact of the Minimum Wage.

Accounting for community spirit

An interesting article by David Clements on Spiked Online arguing that government volunteering programmes could do more harm than good.

It is impossible to reconnect society through these kinds of bureaucratic initiatives, in the absence of a broader vision that might inspire and cohere it. In the government's desperation to get us involved we are not only being patronised, but volunteering as an intrinsically worthwhile pursuit is being defined out of existence.

Russell Commission research

The Russell Commission looking at the future of youth volunteering has published the results of its consultation, downloadable from their website.

Fiona Dawe interview

Fiona Dawe, chief executive of Youthnet, the charity behind do-it.org.uk, is interviewed in Third Sector.

Her experience has left her with firm views. If something resembling AmeriCorps crops up in the Russell Commission's report on a new youth volunteering strategy this spring, she insists it should be called 'citizen service' rather than volunteering.

She is also sceptical about the commission's idea of a website with reviews of people's experiences of volunteering. "One disaffected kid could completely trash an organisation," she says.

Red Cross tsunami volunteers

British Red Cross volunteers have helped nearly 6,000 Britons returning from tsunami disaster zone, reports The Guardian.

The advice from charities continues to be that volunteers are likely to be more use in this country tahn overboard, unless they have specific skills that will be useful.

Quality time with paedophiles

How should society deal with convicted paedophiles? The punitive approach seems to have limited success, but in Canada a group mentoring project called The Circle has seen re-offending rates slashed, reports David Wilson in The Guardian.

So what is it that is at work here? Eileen Henderson, the indefatigable organiser of the Toronto Circle project, explains: "We are a ready-made family. If they abused again they would feel they were letting us down. These men are no different from the rest of us.

"They need to know that they fit in, that they belong, that they have a place with a group of people who say that there are certain things you need to do to help change your behaviour, and we're here to help you do it."

Trends in volunteering

Nice summary of changes in volunteering in the last 20 years, from Mary Merrill. She's American, but the conclusions seem to apply here in the UK, too.

My children are active in volunteer work, but they are more specific than I was. They don’t tend to work on community issues, but they do work on very individualized projects. Increasingly I hear of volunteers who contact an organization saying they have two hours next Thursday from 4-6 p.m. and then stipulate exactly what they would like to do. If the organization cannot accommodate their schedule and interests, they politely move to the next organization.

Sound familiar? I may be stretching it a bit, but I am not far from today’s reality. Volunteer are motivated in very different ways. Are they more self-centered? No, I think they are simply more focused and better able to articulate exactly what they are interested in doing. And, they know it has to fit with a busy lifestyle.