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Volunteering, the Choice You Make
Three important choices, when we think about volunteering
14 April 2021
by Dr Jurgen Grotz
The vision of the Institute for Volunteering Research is of “a world in which the power and energy of volunteering is well understood, where no one gets ‘used’, so that individuals can be confident and feel safe about their decisions to volunteer and policy decisions are made on solid evidence and scientifically robustly produced knowledge, involving at all stages experts by experience!” Volunteering is fundamentally about choice. It’s in the word: voluntary. In this context language matters very much. The more something is prescribed or coerced, the less it is about volunteering. Here are three ways to consider choice when we think about volunteering.
The choice volunteers make
Far too often politicians and journalists are calling for or describing an army of volunteers. Is being a soldier in an army of volunteers really what people choose when they volunteer? Also, volunteer involving organisations in the voluntary, public and private sectors, are telling people to volunteer, because it is good for them and for others. The evidence is clear, this is true in many cases. But volunteering is much less likely to be good for anybody, if it isn’t actually what the volunteer wants to do or if the motivations are plain wrong. Indeed, volunteering can be bad for volunteers and others, so it is important to choose wisely. We know this not only from the Volunteer Rights Enquiry but also the Jimmy Saville Enquiry. The volunteer’s choice of what and how to do voluntarily, has to be at the heart of the thinking of those involving volunteers to protect the volunteers and those they volunteer for.
The difference volunteers choose to make
Volunteers overwhelmingly agree that ‘making a difference’ is one of the important effects of volunteering. But what difference is it to be? The volunteers have a say in this, because it is their choice. They might wish to share their personal experience with those in similar situations, they might want to relieve distress or bring joy. Or they might simply want to meet people and have some fun.
The world volunteers choose to make
The choice of volunteering reflects world views, ideologies. Do we want to be part of an army of volunteers to save struggling health or criminal justice systems? Do we want to be part of an unpaid workforce that can move freely from one organisation to another, with the help of a passport? Do we want volunteering that is about democratic participation, to be part of the renewal of a social contract. Do we simply want to live in a community where people are kind to each other?
When designing volunteering opportunities, developing volunteering interventions and programmes, national, local or organisational volunteering policies it is therefore essential to remember that volunteers need to be safe in their choice of for what and how to volunteer. They need assurance that their volunteering is to make the difference they want to make and leading to a world, to a community, in which they want to live. Only volunteers who want to be in uniform should be in uniform, only volunteers who want a volunteer passport should need one, only volunteers who want to be closely directed should be closely directed. For those whose choice this is, such programmes are right. For those whose choice it isn’t, they are not. And if such opportunities are the only ones promoted, volunteers might make use of their only protection, the choice not to volunteer at all. And that really is not good for anyone.
Let us know what you think by emailing info.ivr@uea.ac.uk
Photo by Heather Morse on Unsplash