do-it blog

Shutting down

2005-03-15T14:22:00.000Z

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

2005-02-11T12:35:00.000Z

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

2005-02-11T12:25:00.000Z

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

2005-02-01T14:20:00.000Z

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

Fiona Dawe interview

2005-01-28T13:33:00.000Z

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

2005-01-14T13:53:00.000Z

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

2004-11-19T11:49:00.000Z

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

2004-11-16T10:15:00.000Z

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.

Volunteering Code

2004-11-12T13:00:00.000Z

The draft Volunteering Code, part of the Compact agreement between government and the voluntary and community sector, is available to be downloaded. The consultation period will run until 7 February 2005.

Year of the Volunteer 2005

2004-11-12T11:50:00.000Z

The first details about the Year of the Volunteer 2005 have been released by the Home Office's Active Communities Directorate.

With CSV and Volunteering England in the lead, themes will include:

Youth and Children
Justice
Sport
Disability
Citizenship
Environment
Animals

Volunteering magazine

2004-11-05T11:36:00.000Z

The November issue of Volunteering magazine is out now, with a few items available on the Volunteering England website, including grants advice and the latest news.

Ethical living

2004-10-29T16:09:00.000+01:00

Leo Burnett has been writing a series of articles in The Guardian about how to lead an ethical life, and the latest focuses on volunteering. Not all the information is completely accurate but it is a good introduction and shows how easy it is to get started.

Alzheimer's rebellion

2004-10-19T14:59:00.000+01:00

A grassroots rebellion is threatening to tear the Alzheimer's Society apart, reports Annie Kelly in The Guardian.

The source of this mutiny is the charity's One Society Review - a programme of internal changes recently approved by the charity's trustee board aimed at reorganising the way the charity is governed and run.

Ford views the changes as "damaging and undemocratic". They involve refocusing power away from its 250 regional branches - semi-autonomous organisations governed by regionally appointed trustees with the support of a volunteer committee board. Instead of branches running community services and raising their own funds, the society will be managed and controlled by paid, centralised staff.

Silver for do-it

2004-10-19T11:15:00.000+01:00

Like Amir Khan, the do-it website has won Silver in a major international competition.

Unlike Amir, we didn't have to have any physical fights, but there was fierce competition from the likes of the American Government's Peace Corps.

The award was specifically for the design of the website, so all credit to the agency who did the work for us, IAB London.

And thanks also to our partners - without the volunteering opportunities on the database there wouldn't be a website at all.

Russell Commission consultation

2004-10-13T08:57:00.000+01:00

The Russell Commission has published its consultation document about the future of volunteering by young people.

You cna download it from the website, but it's a sizable document, so make sure you set aside a good few hours...

iCan name change

2004-10-05T10:00:00.000+01:00

The interactive community website BBC iCan is dropping its name and it's asking users to think of a new one.

iCan was launched a little under a year ago as a way of helping people get involved in civic life, and in that time has grown to over 100,000 visitors a month.

We’re looking for a name which expresses better the breadth and purpose of the site, and which attracts people to get involved. This is part of a general review, which will include some design changes to make it easier to use.

Investing in Volunteers

2004-10-01T13:25:00.000+01:00

Investing in Volunteers is the UK quality standard for all organisations which involve volunteers in their work. The Standard enables organisations to comprehensively review their volunteer management, and also publicly demonstrates their commitment to volunteering.

You can read more on the new Investing in Volunteers website.

Russell Commission consultation

2004-10-01T13:20:00.000+01:00

Dates have been announced for the national and regional consultation exercises to run by for The Russell Commission and Volunteering England to help discover and build on what works in youth volunteering.

Events will take place on:
26 October – London
03 November - Bolton
04 November – Middlesbrough
09 November – Birmingham
16 November – Brighton
18 November – Leicester
22 November - Exeter
23 November – Huddersfield
30 November - Norwich

You can book online on the Volunteering England website.

BritCorps

2004-09-29T09:28:00.000+01:00

"All school leavers deserve a decent volunteer scheme," says Liz Stuart in The Guardian.

Nothing particularly new here, but despite the rumours that the Russell Commission on youth volunteering seems to be moving away from the idea of a BritCorps-type national scheme you can see why it is appealing to politicians.

It would be important that BritCorps be open to all 16-to 24-year-olds, not only those going to university. As in the US, BritCorps members could be given money towards university tuition or training fees. This might just encourage those from poorer backgrounds to continue with their education.

International Volunteer Day 2004

2004-09-28T11:26:00.000+01:00

There's a new website from the UN that includes a section about International Volunteers Day (5 December 2004). It's not the easiest site to use but there's a lot of stuff there, including a volunteer story from Peru that features an interesting culinary experience:

We were informed by an amused local that our best option was to pick it up, tear it limb from limb and "suckle" on the small amount of meat we could find trying to avoid a small, prickly rib cage. We decided it tasted a little like chicken. What was it? Guinea pig. We were told it was normal to eat the head, brains etc. I hid mine under a mountain of serviettes, informed the waiter it was most delicious and thanked him profusely.

IT (non) collaboration

2004-09-24T10:59:00.000+01:00

A row has broken out between two IT consortia, says Third Sector.

Nine voluntary sector organisations have complained to the Home Office Active Community Unit about umbrella body NCVO's refusal to collaborate with them on a sector-wide initiative to improve charities' IT use.

It seems that NCVO are already in bed with another grouping, the ICT Consortium.

The organisations that have complained are all members of Citra, a coalition formed at the end of last year to develop the sector's use of IT. Citra members include Acevo, the Institute of Fundraising, the Charity Finance Directors Group, Charity Logistics and the Directory of Social Change.

Citra claims it was unaware when it launched that another coalition, led by the NCVO and called the ICT Consortium, was already working on a national strategy.

Volunteering = happiness

2004-09-20T17:29:00.000+01:00

Doing voluntary work not only makes the individual feel good but can raise the happiness levels of a whole community, according to new research, says BBC News.

Professor Paul Whiteley, from University of Essex in Colchester, whose team produced the findings, said: "The research has revealed an interesting link between helping others and enjoying a good quality of life.

"It seems that when we focus on the needs of others, we may also reap benefits ourselves.

"It means that voluntary activity in the community is associated with better health, lower crime, improved educational performance and greater life satisfaction", he added.

Volunteer or lose pay rise

2004-09-20T17:24:00.000+01:00

Staff who fail to commit themselves to volunteering should be barred from pay rises or promotion, according to business leader Digby Jones.

The director general of the Confederation of British Industry made his controversial comments during a fringe meeting held by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) yesterday, the first day of the five-day annual Liberal Democrat conference in Bournemouth, reports The Guardian.

"What I would like to see is that you are not getting promoted, you are not going to get your pay rise if you do not show - just as if you had not been on a training course, for example - how many hours you have given to a voluntary organisation," he said.

"Some part of it would be done in employers' time, some would be in the employees' time, and that could go into the annual report."

Update 24/09/04: Volunteering England has published their response to Mr Jones.

BME volunteers on do-it

2004-09-17T13:31:00.000+01:00

Since we introduced registration on do-it, back in February, we've been able to learn a lot more about who uses the site.

One of the most encouraging findings, as reported by fundraising.co.uk, is that 27% of people who register are from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups - 11% higher than figures quoted in the National Statistics, which found black and other ethnic minorities to make up 16% of the UK population.

Most volunteering surveys in the past have suggested that organisations have trouble reaching BME groups, so it's good news that do-it seems to be filling a gap.

Generation V

2004-09-14T13:15:00.000+01:00

A new study from the Institute for Volunteering Research (Generation V: Young people speak out on volunteering) highlights some of the requirements for getting more 16-24 year olds involved.

Flexibility emerged as a buzzword in the study – flexibility in the types of opportunity open to young people and flexibility in the times they can volunteer. Another key guiding principle for the successful ‘re-branding’ of volunteering was held to be ‘youth ownership’, whereby young people were given responsibility for shaping and leading their own volunteering activities.

These and other findings were in line with those in previous reports, such as the Institute's What Young People Want From Volunteering.

The latest research was commissioned by The Russell Commission, looking into the future of youth volunteering.

Interestingly, as the preamble to the study point out, levels of volunteering by young people appear to be quote high.

The 2001 Home Office Citizenship Survey (HOCS) found that 40% of 16-24 year olds had been involved in formal volunteering and 73% had been involved in informal volunteering in the 12 months before interview. These results suggested that young people volunteer at a similar, or higher, rate when compared to older people.

Charity shops online

2004-09-14T13:08:00.000+01:00

With the rise and rise of eBay, the hugely profitable online auction website, should charities be moving away from the high street and onto the web?

Writing in Third Sector, Lisa Harker, Chair of the Daycare Trust, looks at the online future for charity shops.

If charities are to benefit from this revolution, they will have to embrace change. Some already are. eBay boasts a charity page on its website and some of the more enterprising charities are already using it to sell off valuable items donated to them. With 114 million people using eBay worldwide, charities have access to more customers than they have ever dreamed of.

Poppy People

2004-09-10T13:15:00.000+01:00

The Royal British Legion has launched an appeal for Poppy People - volunteers who can help with their annual fundraising drive.

Volunteers with convictions

2004-09-06T14:56:00.000+01:00

The ever helpful Mark Restall, from Volunteering England, points out on the UK VPMs forum that The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development have updated their 'Employing people with conviction' booklet. It's now retitled 'Employing ex offenders: a practical guide'.

As the subtitle says, it feels more practical, with plenty of helpful flowcharts for decision making. There's also a little more information on the protection of children act and disqualification orders than in the first edition.

It is written from an employment point of view, but it's virtually all relevant to volunteering, and does push teh equal opportunities angle.

As one in three men have a conviction by the age of 30 any organisation refusing to take on ex-offenders is not only ignoring equal opps, they're shooting themselves in the foot by discounting as many as 20% of potential volunteers.

The booklet is available as a pdf file to be downloaded.

Bug splat results

2004-09-02T11:06:00.000+01:00

The RSPB has revealed the results of its volunteer-based Big Bug Count, and apparently there are far fewer insects out there than had been expected.

With the help of the newly invented Splatometer (a cardboard grid to aid the counting of insect splats on a number plate), nearly 40,000 people took part in the survey and many were astonished by how few insects they counted. A total of 324,814 insects were counted at an average rate of only one splat every five miles.

Because this is a new survey we can't yet show for sure that insects have declined. However, in order to see if there are any changes in insect numbers in the future, the RSPB will repeat this survey. In time we will be able to compare these results with those from our bird monitoring to see if there are any links.

Richard Bashford, RSPB's Big Bug Count co-ordinator

Mind the gap

2004-08-27T16:05:00.000+01:00

Saw an ad for Timebank's latest campaign, Mind the Gap, on the tube this morning.

The aim is to raise awareness amongst black and minority ethnic (BME) communities about how to volunteer as well as the benefits of giving time.

Home Office Grants

2004-08-27T15:56:00.000+01:00

Two big new volunteering grants have been announced this week.

The National Mentoring Network and Volunteering England (NMN/VE) have been awarded £800,000 to jointly develop a national mentoring and befriending body and boost the mentoring movement.

Meanehile a £600,000 grant will enable WRVS will work to promote the involvement of older volunteers, in particular the over-65s.

Full details are available from the Home Office.

Architecture for Humanity

2004-08-03T17:10:00.000+01:00

Featured on Wired News, the American not-for-profit Architecture for Humanity hosts Web-based competitions in which architects and designers submit plan proposals for sites around the world affected by war, disease or natural disaster.

It's "an attempt to harness the Net's networking power to tackle humanitarian crises."

Kohli to head ACD

2004-07-29T10:39:00.000+01:00

Jitinder Kohli has been appointed to head the Home Office's Active Communities Directorate. He will replace Helen Edwards, who was promoted to become director general of the Communities Group in January.

As The Guardian points out, while Edwards came from the voluntary sector, Kohli is very much a civil service insider.

He is currently head of the productivity and structural reform team at the Treasury and previously set up the Home Office's Community Cohesion Unit, which tackles racial tension in local communities.

He is also on the board of the Circle 33 Housing Group.

Kohli will take up his post in September.

Dolphin spotting

2004-07-26T16:28:00.000+01:00

The Zoological Society of London is appealing for volunteers to join the search for dolphins, porpoises and seals in the Thames Estuary and take part in the Thames Marine Mammal Sightings Survey.

Yes, you read that correctly: dolphins, porpoises and seals. In the Thames.

We're keeping our eyes peeled...

Volunteering cures all ills

2004-07-23T11:47:00.000+01:00

OK, we've always said that volunteering was good for you. But this good?

According to new research by ICM, commissioned by CSV Make a Difference Day and Barclays, volunteering fights obesity and improves health and fitness, particularly amongst young people.

And it can improve your sex life.

In the survey of 600 volunteers:

47% say volunteering has improved their physical health and fitness.
25% of people who volunteer more than five times a year say volunteering has helped them lose weight
60% of 18-24 year olds say volunteering has improved their fitness
22% of 18-24 year olds say volunteering helps them cut down on alcohol
30% of 18-24 year old smokers say volunteering helps them smoke less
17% of volunteers aged 18-24 years old say that volunteering has improved their sex life
15% of all volunteers say volunteering had led them to eat less chocolate

The question is...why?!

Praise for do-it

2004-07-23T11:06:00.000+01:00

When we get reviews as good as this, our natural modesty goes out of the window :-)

This is an excellent website, a perfect example in good design and at the same time providing a very valuable service in the community.

Home Office Strategic Plan

2004-07-21T11:17:00.000+01:00

The Home Office has launched a new Strategic Plan for 2004-2008.

Objective five is that:

Citizens, communities and the voluntary sector are more fully engaged in tackling social problems and there is more equality of opportunity and respect for people of all races and religions.

And the relevant "commitments to law-abiding citizens" are:

Delivering more ways in which individuals can get involved in something that matters to them in their community, such as involvement in an organisation running parts of services in their neighbourhood.
Using the new Active Citizenship Centre and network of civic pioneer local authorities to promote inspiring examples of individuals and local activity around the country.
Continuing the increase in volunteering with a particular focus on youth volunteering.
Creating a new Commission for Equality and Human Rights, to promote equality
across society.
Maintaining momentum on ethnic minority recruitment, retention and promotion in the public sector.

Active Citizenship Centre

2004-07-21T11:07:00.000+01:00

Home Office Minister Fiona Mactaggart has launched the Active Citizenship Centre, a ‘one-stop shop’ for the latest research on community engagement and case studies of civil renewal from different areas.

Developed by the Birmingham Voluntary Service Council, in partnership with the Civil Renewal Unit in the Home Office, The Active Citizenship Centre will be running a research programme and seminar series in the autumn 2004.

Brazier Bill fails

2004-07-21T10:57:00.000+01:00

Julian Brazier MP's Volunteering Bill, has failed in it's passage through Parliament, reports The Guardian after one of the longest parliamentary speeches in recent times helped ensure that time ran out. The chance of the Bill succeeding were already remote, after the Government had withdrawn support.

The aim of the Bill was to protect volunteers from claims of negligence, but many voluntary organisations had felt that there were problems with the drafting and definitions - see previous post.

The filibustering speech by Andrew Dismore attacked the Bill for being "vague and badly worded".

Mr Dismore sat down at 2.07pm, three hours and one minute after he started, saying: "I realise I have been going on for some time." He said he would need to speak for another hour to cover the bill fully but stopped to allow other MPs to speak.

Informal volunteering increases

2004-07-16T11:38:00.000+01:00

According to a Home Office survey the proportion of the population in England engaged in active community participation at least once a month has risen significantly, from 48 per cent in 2001 (around 18.8 million people) to 51 per cent in 2003 (around 20.3 million people).

As Society Guardian reports:

The government definition of community participation takes in organised formal volunteering and "informal volunteering" - helping people who are not part of the family with babysitting, shopping, giving advice, cat-sitting, offering transport or keeping in touch with housebound neighbours. The definition also includes civic involvement, ranging from contacting MPs and council officials to signing petitions or going on protest demonstrations.

Formal volunteering figures have stayed static, with 28% of the survey - an estimated 11.1 million people nationwide - saying they were involved once a month in 2003, about the same as in 2001.

Welcoming the report, Home Office Minister, Fiona Mactaggart, said:

"The Prime Minister’s target of one million more people volunteering their time between 2001 and 2003 has been exceeded, and we are on course to exceed the Home Office’s own target of raising volunteering by five per cent by 2006."

Russell Commission website

2004-07-12T16:31:00.000+01:00

The Russell Commission into youth participation in volunteering (see earlier post) has launched its website.

The initial research findings have already been posted and no doubt more will follow.

The aims of the Commission, as stated on the website, sound a little grander than earlier statements suggested:

The Russell Commission has been set up by the Government to develop a new national framework for youth action and engagement.

Compare that with the Home Office press release on 17 May, when the Commission had just been announced:

The Russell Commission has been set up by the Government to look at innovative ways to increase the number of young people volunteering.

Apparently there will soon also be a website aimed at getting the views of young people.

Online agitators

2004-07-12T12:40:00.000+01:00

While most people just moan about politics, a group of volunteers have come up with a website that is helping to open up the whole parliamentary process.

TheyWorkForYou.com allows you to search information published in Hansard, the official Parliamentary record.

As one of the founders, Bobbie Johnson, told The Guardian:

"There's lots of interesting stuff...but it's so unappealing to read the Hansard site. For example, there's no way that webloggers can link into it. Presenting it in a readable way was something that had been talked about a lot before, but never done."

The site has also created a forum where users can discuss matters arising in parliamentary debates.

TheyWorkForYou is the latest in a growing list of largely voluntary online political projects. The best known is probably FaxYourMP, which allows you to find your MP and send a fax to them about an issue of your choosing via your computer.

Johnson is firmly in favour of the volunteer approach, arguing that "voluntary projects benefit from a lack of the bureaucracy that can make commercial projects so difficult."

Australian volunteers

2004-07-09T11:37:00.000+01:00

Go Volunteer, the Australian equivalent of do-it, has published the results of a survey into its users.

Key findings:
- 74% of their website users are under the age of 34
- 80% are female
- 66% are looking it gain work experience

Much the same as we've found with do-it, in fact.

Any ideas why volunteer recruitment on the web should be so skewed towards women? Most research shows that volunteering in general is split quite evenly between the sexes.

Prisoners as volunteers

2004-07-08T10:21:00.000+01:00

Derby Citizens Advice Bureau is recruiting prisoners as volunteers, reports The Guardian.

Despite the fact that volunteers will be carefully selected and trained, not everyone is happy.

Philip Hickson, deputy leader of Derby city council, says the scheme would undermine public confidence. "There is the potential for people to be taken advantage of when they approach the CAB in vulnerable and distressing circumstances," he says. "What people expect when they ring is a highly trained, vetted professional - not someone serving a prison sentence."

New approaches to search

2004-07-05T10:21:00.000+01:00

"We all have a million file folders and you can't find anything...It's easier to find something from among a billion Web pages with Google than it is to find something on your hard disk." Steve Jobs, Apple CEO

The future, according to Wired News, will not be sorting information, but searching for it.

Until now, the focus for computer operating systems has been on files, folders and organisation. But the next wave of development will be search engines that work across everything on your hard drive - from emails to Word documents.

Both Apple and Microsoft are planning similar developments.

ACD website

2004-07-02T10:25:00.000+01:00

Has anyone else noticed the improvements in the Active Communities Directorate website?

It has a much more user-friendly feel these days, with some decent articles and up-to-date information.

Well worth a visit, and it looks good, too.

All they need now is a link to do-it on the homepage :-)

BME volunteering in Scotland

2004-07-02T09:47:00.000+01:00

Volunteer Development Scotland (VDS) has published A Way Of Life, a study of volunteering in black and ethnic minority communities.

It's the first piece of work of its kind ever undertaken in Scotland and offers a widespread survey of volunteer recruitment, support and motivations, as well as recommendations for what more needs to be done.

One of the recommendations is that: "Motivations to volunteer derived from the different cultures and faiths need to be embraced through volunteering".

Few would argue with this, but religion can be a tricky issue for volunteering infrastructure organisations. For example, should a Volunteer Centre advertise opportunities where part of the mission, alongside good works, is to promote a certain religious viewpoint?

Timebank ran a campaign called Respect that aimed to promote inter-faith volunteering, and it would be interesting to know about other faith-based volunteering initiatives run by infrastructure organisations.

Another key finding in the VDS report is that: "There is limited interaction between the Volunteer Centres and the BME diverse communities. The current Volunteer Centre arrangements are failing the BME diverse community volunteers and projects. There is insufficient awareness of diversity and a lack of provision for cultural needs."

Does this also hold true for the rest of the UK?

Russell Commission (update)

2004-07-01T17:00:00.000+01:00

Further to our previous posting about the establishment of The Russell Commission into youth volunteering, the Active Communities Directorate has published some more information.

"The ultimate goal of the Russell Commission is to find ways to show youngsters that, with volunteering, everyone’s a winner. Not only is it good for the community and individuals that they help, but the volunteers themselves also benefit. They meet new people, their self confidence is improved and they can learn new skills and gain experience which could help them in their professional lives down the track.

The Commission’s job is to find ways to encourage youngsters to give volunteering a go. Once they do, it should sell itself."

Interview skills

2004-06-28T10:34:00.000+01:00

Useful article about interview skills on Mary Merrill's website.

She's an American trainer, speaker and academic - brought to the attention of the do-it blog by Rob Jackson's post on the UKVPMs forum. Rob was highlighting a new article by Mary about young volunteers.

"ChangeUp"

2004-06-25T11:42:00.000+01:00

After much consulting, and no doubt many thousand internal meetings, the Home Office has published ChangeUp, the capacity building and infrastructure framework for the voluntary and community sector.

Documents of this scale are not for the fainthearted, but there is an executive summary.

For the volunteer infrastructure the "High level objectives by 2014" are that:

There is a leaner, effectively marketed and high quality volunteering infrastructure reaching, recruiting and placing a greater number and diversity of individuals coupled with improved volunteer management
There should be provision for local volunteer engagement and organisational support and development, through volunteer centres, in all areas of the country by 2009
There should be a commonly branded local volunteering infrastructure linked to the achievement of quality standards available from the end of 2005

The key, of course, will be how this can be achieved. Volunteering England have already published a 10-year strategy for volunteering infrastructure (there's a summary online) but the question of funding for volunteer centres remains - many just don't get enough support from their local authority.

Spam problem for blind people

2004-06-22T15:52:00.000+01:00

Interesting insight on Wired News into the problems email spam causes blind people.

"For the millions of blind and visually impaired Internet users around the world, using text-to-speech software is often the only way to check e-mail. But as the spam problem gets worse, more and more of those users are finding that having their e-mail read aloud can be a minefield. Listening to the next message in the inbox may reveal an important letter from an old friend or, more often, an embarrassing ad for penis-enhancement therapy."

Community Newswire

2004-06-22T11:47:00.000+01:00

For organisations too small to have a press officer, The Media Trust and Press Association (PA) have launched the Community Newswire.

Twenty stories a day, drawn from items submitted by local organisations, will go out on the PA's regional newswires to the country's national and local newspapers and broadcast media.

You can also search the Community Newswire database of past stories - although when I tried it, this didn't seem to be working too well.

Roadkill

2004-06-21T15:49:00.000+01:00

Volunteering with cute animals normally has widespread appeal, but the Mammal's Trust UK might have their work cut out for their latest recruitment campaign.

They're looking for people to record the number of animals they see along a stretch of road. No problem there. Except that most of the animals are likely to be dead.

As the Trust says: "Sad though it is that many are victims of road traffic accidents, some good can come from their deaths."

Volunteering/Employment

2004-06-21T15:21:00.000+01:00

When is a volunteer an employee?

It's always been hard to say, primarily because there have been so few tribunal cases to clarify the position. This week Volunteering England has published an explanation of a significant employment tribunal case from last year that emphasises the distinctiveness of volunteering.

The case is an appeal against a previous ruling that suggested that because volunteers were given expenses in return for fulfilling their duties, they might legally be seen as employees.

The appeal decision is a little complex, but the key ruling seems to be that:

"Like many similar charitable organisations, similarly dependent on the services of volunteers, the [Citizens' Advice] Bureau provides training for its volunteers and expects of them in return a commitment to work for it, but the work expected of them is expressed to be voluntary, it is in fact unpaid and all that the Volunteer Agreement purports to do is to set out the Bureau's expectations of its volunteers."

The Volunteering England analysis is well worth reading, along with the full text of the judgement.

Virtual volunteering

2004-06-17T11:47:00.000+01:00

Virtual volunteering has been talked about for a while now as the next big thing, without ever seeming to take off.

Maybe this will help. Posted on the UKVPMs forum, a link to a fantastic set of resources from the American ServiceLeader project about online mentoring and all sorts of virtual volunteering.

Confidentiality

2004-06-17T10:43:00.000+01:00

We 're a litte slow with this story, but it's worth a look.

Ray Osborne, a Samaritans volunteer, was dismissed for breaching caller confidentiality earlier this year after he reported a murderer to the police.

The information he gave helped the police solve a murder case, but Samaritans have strict confidentiality rules that he was deemed to have broken:

"All information relating to a caller is confidential to Samaritans unless:

- We have informed consent from a caller to pass on information - We call an ambulance because a caller appears to be incapable of making rational decisions for him or herself
- We receive a court order requiring us to divulge information
- We are passed information about acts of terrorism or bomb warnings
- A caller attacks or threatens volunteers
- A caller deliberately prevents the service from being delivered to other callers

Samaritans maintains confidentiality even after the death of a caller."

Their decision to dismiss Osborne seems to have split opinion in the sector. Some argue that they were right to uphold their rules, others say that in exceptional circumstances there must be some flexibility.

One thing is for sure, being a Samaritan is a very tough assignment. And administering confidentiality policies is quite tricky, too.

Multi-platforms

2004-06-15T11:13:00.000+01:00

Here at do-it we're polishing our crystal ball and trying to anticipate how people might like to use our website in the future.

Would people access do-it on Digital TV? Could interactive TV be used in some way?

Can you imagine people searching the database on their WAP phone? How would the site have to be modified to make it work on a phone?

And what about SMS texts? Do you think people might like text updates about new volunteering opportunities and/or one-off events? Would a text number be useful on print adverts to allow people a way to respond instantly - perhaps being texted back with three opportunities and the web address?

Or should we just stick to the web and email?

Click on the 'comments' link below and let us know your thoughts...

Brazier Bill (2)

2004-06-11T16:58:00.000+01:00

Turns out that the Brazier Bill on volunteering and organisations' liability has, in fact, been substantially altered in Committee, adding a number of qualifying clauses.

CCPR and Skills Active withdrew their support last month. They say that while they appreciate they have been "greatly encouraged by the progress of the Bill", they are "aware of the opposition to the particular piece of legislation which is being proposed, from across the wider voluntary sector and some government departments: this opposition is based on concern that there has been insufficient time to test the effects of the proposed legislation, and that there could be unforeseen consequences which could make matters even worse for volunteers and their organisations."

VisitorVille

2004-06-11T11:00:00.000+01:00

Stats, graphs, lengthy reports: website analysis is not for the easily bored.

Until now.

VistorVille, spotted by wired.com,takes a graphical approach to reporting on your traffic.

"In VisitorVille, referrers are depicted as buses. And web pages on your site are depicted as buildings. When a new visitor arrives, a bus delivers them to a building. To move between buildings, visitors either walk, take a cab or -- if you have designated them as a VIP -- a limousine. VIPs also fly in by helicopter."

It's more SimCity than WebTrends.

"When you have many visitors on your web site, it begins to resemble midtown Manhattan, and it's hard to get your eyes off the screen! Buildings resize and illuminate dynamically based on the number of people inside, their relative popularity, and how many visitors exited through them. Buses, taxis, and limos race around the streets; pedestrians walk across crosswalks; helicopters ply the air."

But would you ever get any work done?!

Asylum seekers

2004-06-10T12:11:00.000+01:00

David Blunkett has announced proposals "to make community work an obligation for failed asylum seekers who cannot return home."

"This is something for something," the Home Secretary told the BBC, "in the same way we are doing with our welfare to work programme."

Quite how useful forcing people to do "community work" will be, remains open to question. The few projects that have been funded to support volunteering by asylum seekers and refugees, such as one run by Volunteer Centre Westminster have been very successful. But there is a big difference between choosing to get involved in the community and being compelled to.

As The Guardian points out, blurring the line between voluntary work and compulsory community work spells dangers for organisations, too.

e-Government

2004-06-03T15:06:00.000+01:00

This week the Government e-Envoy was consigned to internet history.

Apparently its work is mostly done: there is widespread internet access, a thriving e-bussines environment and an increasing number of government sevrices are online.

In true Whitehall style, however, a new body will immediately fill the space. The e-Government Unit, headed by Ian Whatmore is already up and running.

Its aim? "To work with departments to deliver efficiency savings while improving the delivery of public services by joining up electronic government services around the needs of customers."

Sounds like a big job.

Brazier Bill

2004-06-03T10:41:00.000+01:00

Probably the hottest volunteering debate of the moment concerns Julian Brazier MP's Promotion of Volunteering Bill.

It would allow organisations to request that participants (or their parent/guardian) have to sign a "Statement of Inherent Risk" that will limit the organisation's liability for work involving volunteers.

It's aimed primarily at sports and outdoors activity organisations who feel under threat from the rise in litigation. So it's no surprise that the Central Council for Physical Recreation is one of the main supporters.

But, as Volunteering England (VE) point out, the issue is not confined to volunteering. Work undertaken by paid staff encounters exactly the same problems relating to liability and risk management. Focusing on volunteers risks confusing the issue, they argue.

The Bill has passed its second reading, where it received plenty of support. However, given that it is a Private Member's Bill not backed by government, it is unlikely to become law.

"do gooders"

2004-06-01T14:39:00.000+01:00

Nick Cater, a professional boot-putter-in for Society Guardian, is at it again.

Taking "Volunteering Week" (aka Volunteers Week) as his starting point, he asks: "do do-gooders do any good?"

In among the bluster there are some interesting points. He criticises the battle for volunteering leadership between the Home Office and The Treasury as well as laying into the "uncharitable competitiveness" of some volunteering organisations.

But he also criticises VSO for even existing (it's patronising to developing countries, apparently) and slags off Citizens Advice for piloting a very sensible sounding financial advice project.

Cater seems to be one of those self-proclaimed radicals who is, in fact, deeply conservative. Note his approval of charity shop volunteering: "nothing innovative [and] not a youth in sight..."

Whitbread Young Achievers

2004-05-28T11:58:00.000+01:00

Hurry. Nominations for the Whitbread Young Achievers Awards close on Friday 11 June.

Run in partnership with the Home Office, the Awards recognise outstanding contributions by 16-25 year olds who have really made a difference.

Overall winners in each category receive £1000 for personal and project development, £250 in Leisure Vouchers and 12 months of tailored follow-up support. Two runners-up in each category will also receive £150 and £150 worth of Leisure Vouchers.

Baby blog

2004-05-28T11:35:00.000+01:00

We like blogs. That's why we created one of our own.

But things can go too far.

The Trixie Update, brought to our attention by Ben Hammersley, is a record of every single moment of a baby's life. And yes, that includes a 'Diaper log' and associated feature articles.

And if that wasn't enough the people behind it are now devloping the Trixie Tracker, "designed to let new parents set up telemetry for their own baby."

Aaaaargh!

Students

2004-05-28T11:15:00.000+01:00

Student volunteers contribute around 3.5 million hours every year, according to a new study from Student Volunteering England .

That's the good news.

Less impressive is that fact that this volunteering is done by around 42,000 students, which is little more than 2% of higher education students in England who volunteer.

So Student Volunteering England (SVE?) are setting a target of increasing participation to 100,000 by 2006. Good luck!

Incidentally, the SVE website seems to have been re-designed. Nice work. And a very useful clickable map listing student volunteering groups.

Russell Commission (of one)

2004-05-27T14:18:00.000+01:00

Ever since the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, announced that Scottish Power's chief executive, Ian Russell, would be heading a commission into the future of youth volunteering, speculation has been rife as to who would be sitting on it. Which of the volunteering great and good would included? More importantly, who would be left out?!

Well, last week came the answer. No one would be left out. Because no one would be included. The Commission would comprise Ian Russell and, er, that's it.

There will be an Advisory Group, however, as well as a Youth Advisory Group and the promise of wide consultation.

The Commission (or Mr Russell, as we like to call it) is due to report back to the Home Secretary by March 2005.

BBC iCAN

2004-05-27T14:15:00.000+01:00

Before its launch last year, BBC iCan was known as "the new politics initiative". The BBC was concerned, apparently, that people were turned off by politics and they wanted new ways to engage them. So the iCan website was launched.

The site is still a beta version and they say they are welcoming feedback so now is the time to look around and say what you think.

The idea is to create online communities and campaigns and signpost people to the resources they need to get stuff done locally. Hopefully do-it will feature some time soon.

But is the site too restrictive? An article on Spiked-online complains that: "The list of rules reads like a draconian code of conduct. Everything goes - so long as they oversee what we say and cut out the rude bits." It continues: "Surely iCan should be renamed iCan't. No wonder the current featured campaign is about banning chewing gum."

Gates backs blogs

2004-05-27T11:26:00.000+01:00

The do-it blog is a new way for us to communicate with our partners and users. We have the do-it website, obviously, but we wanted something more informal as well, where you can post your comments.

Microsoft boss Bill Gates is thinking along the same lines. At an event last week he said that blogs were a good way for companies (and, we assume, charities) to keep in touch with their customers, staff and partners.