Volunteerism is deeply rooted in human history. It has played a pivotal role in shaping societies, addressing pressing issues, and bringing about significant positive transformation.
In the past 4 years the world has seen unprecedented change. The repercussions of the pandemic, war in Ukraine, the Israel-Gaza war and the cost-of-living crisis proceed to affect us all together with the communities we live in.
Understandably volunteer participation has not yet fully recovered. In the most recent Community Life Survey, the proportion of the UK population who volunteer had dropped from 23% in 2019/2020 to 16% the next yr (2021/2022). However, we all know the positive impact volunteering can have. Research has shown that volunteering offers significant health advantages, each physical and mental, and may provide a way of purpose.
It is undeniable that charities like ours at Girls’ Brigade couldn’t function or deliver programmes without volunteers. They perform our services to ladies and young women across the country, leading groups and connecting with communities. We have volunteers from ages 18 to 94. This yr alone, eight of our wonderful volunteers are marking 50 years of service!
Jo Thoy is 67 years old from Durham. She has been a component of Girls’ Brigade since 1965, first as a member after which a volunteer – the standard path our young women take. Jo said, “Girls’ Brigade has been my life. If you narrow me in half like a stick of rock candy, you’d see Girls’ Brigade written all through me.” The welcoming community that she experienced as a young girl is what keeps her engaged as a volunteer leader and she or he’s determined to maintain that encouraging and secure environment prevalent for all her members today.
Jo was diagnosed with cancer several years ago, but that did not stop her from investing in Girls’ Brigade – she was surrounded by love and care through the entire process. Jo believes this commitment goes two ways: “It doesn’t matter how long you volunteer for, but loyalty is important.”
But it doesn’t take someone working directly with volunteers to recognise that the world has modified since Jo first got involved with Girls’ Brigade. With volunteering on a gradual decline, long-term, committed volunteers like Jo will not be the norm anymore. Work commitments, caring responsibilities and falling living standards are all affecting the longevity that volunteers can commit for.
For younger volunteers like 27-year-old Grace Claydon in Essex, who also has two jobs, the explanation she’s volunteering now’s rather more vital than the query of how long she’ll volunteer for: “Girls’ Brigade gave me a lot as a young woman growing up, and it is so vital to me to give you the chance to present back and supply those opportunities I needed to the subsequent generation.”
Grace said, “I feel it’s good to be a part of something … you are more prone to be loyal to something in the event you feel such as you belong. Girls’ Brigade has at all times been a secure place for me, and a spot of belonging. But all volunteering is very important and worthwhile. We all undergo seasons of life and sometimes things work for us and sometimes they do not.”
Attitudes towards volunteering could also be changing, but the necessity for volunteers is not shrinking. Volunteers are helping us create a movement. They’re on the bottom seeing life transformation. I firmly imagine if we rejoice the commitment of our volunteers, allowing them to precise the impact it has had on their lives and dedicate our time to the subsequent generation of leaders providing opportunities for people to serve in secure environments, we may see an enormous change in 2024.
Judith Davey-Cole is the CEO of Girls’ Brigade Ministries, an organisation with volunteer-led community groups for young people to explore life together in a secure and welcoming space for everybody. Girls’ Brigade goals to equip young people for all times so that they can grow in confidence to vary their communities.
