The Shape of Our Community

Community organisations come in all shapes and sizes. They deliver a wide range of community service and activities, from youth clubs to craft sessions, sport to drama, lunch clubs to support groups and everything in between. And behind every organisation are passionate and committed volunteers all willingly donating their time and talents for free.

Volunteers are always active at the heart of every UK community so taking the time during Volunteers’ Week to celebrate and recognise their efforts and all they contribute to local communities and society as a whole has never been more important.

Click here to learn more about Volunteers’ Week.

Why do people volunteer?
It is important to remember a volunteer’s motivation for getting involved will be different for different people and what motivates one volunteer may put another off. These are just a few of the common reasons why people volunteer:

• To meet new people and make friends,
• To improve job prospects and boost CVs,
• To learn new skills and use them to support others,
• It gives them a sense of purpose or
• It supports their religious beliefs and need to give back to the local community in some way.

Roger’s volunteer journey with 617th Air Cadets started when his grandson joined the cubs. He decided to become an occasional helper and, as time went on, he became a section assistant.

Four years on, Roger is an integral part of the cadets as a Group Scout Leader helping them to deliver weekly sessions and attract funding to support their activities.

Knowing Me, Knowing You!
Getting to know your volunteers is a great way of learning more about them and what motivates them to volunteer with your organisation. It will help your organisation to recognise and show volunteers that they are appreciated in a way that volunteers are comfortable with. Remember some volunteers like to operate under the radar, whereas others love the spotlight!

Knowing this information about your organisation’s volunteers will enable you to tailor future volunteer messages and opportunities around those different needs.

Remember, volunteers can do a lot (regular volunteering within the organisation) or a little (ad hoc or one-off support) so it’s always helpful if volunteering opportunities can be flexible (in time and place) where possible.

Why not offer bite-sized volunteering? It’s a flexible way of encouraging volunteers to help a local community or organisation that fits around them and their needs.

Let’s Go Sandwell is the perfect starting point in discovering your perfect Sandwell volunteer opportunity.