1 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
The Value of Volunteering to Herefordshire
April 2010
2 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Foreword In 2006 Herefordshire Voluntary Action was commissioned by Herefordshire Infrastructure Consortium
(HIC) to undertake desktop research to establish ‘The Value of Volunteering to Herefordshire’. For the first
time ever, a realistic value was placed on the economic contribution that volunteers made to the county. This
figure was calculated as a staggering £44million.
Herefordshire Voluntary Action’s Volunteer Centre has now been re-commissioned by HIC to update that
study. As before, we have drawn on statistics supplied by the Research Team at Herefordshire Council and
we would like to thank them for their contribution to this study.
Angela Legg
Volunteering Services Manager
April 2010
Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Berrows Business Centre
Bath Street
Hereford
HR1 2HE
Tel: 01432 343 932
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.herefordshireva.org
Charity No:1096451 Company No: 4625592
3 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
53,000 adults volunteer in Herefordshire
They give 5,876,000 hours per annum This is the
equivalent of 3,054 full
time workers
The value of volunteering in Herefordshire
is
£60 million
Summary Headlines
4 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Contents Page
Foreword 2 Summary Headlines 3 Introduction 5 How many people volunteer? 6 National Picture 7 Herefordshire 8 Placing an economic value on volunteering 10 Beyond an economic value of volunteering 12 Conclusions 20 Sources 20 Appendix: Volunteering in Herefordshire—breakdown by age and gender, disability, employment status and wards
5 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Introduction
Volunteering is a powerful tool for change, both for those who volunteer and for the wider community. It builds, supports and sustains communities and individuals, making a huge difference to at all levels of society.
Herefordshire Compact Volunteering Code of Practice 2009
Volunteers are at the heart of everyday life in Herefordshire. They deliver vital services from meals on
wheels to caring for older people; they drive thousands of miles across the county transporting the
housebound and disabled whilst hundreds more are providing friendship and support to people who are
struggling with health or disability. Every year volunteers raise millions of pounds to ensure the continuation
of essential services such as St Michael’s Hospice, Macmillan Nurses and the Air Ambulance, to funding
much needed amenities such as the new Charles Renton Unit and the Hydrosense building at Barrs Court
School in Hereford. Without voluntary activity, sports clubs, residents’ associations, parish councils,
environmental conservation work and heritage centres would all grind to a halt.
The contribution that volunteers made to the county was recognised in 2006 with the publication of the ‘Value
of Volunteering in Herefordshire’. The report acknowledged that over the previous ten years there had been
an increasing recognition from all political parties of the value of volunteering both as a cost effective means
of providing services along with its positive contribution towards an active and participatory society. This
had resulted in a plethora of government initiatives to involve more people in volunteering. In the four years
since that report volunteering has moved even higher on the public policy agenda with, for example, the
establishment in 2008 of v, a £100m three year national volunteering programme for 16-25 years. From April
2010 a team of School Advisers will work with high schools to encourage 14-15 year olds to volunteer.
Together, these two projects will take forward the government’s aspiration that all young people should play a
part in their communities by undertaking 50 hours of volunteer work by the age of 19.
A significant response in recognising the value of volunteering was the setting up of a Commission on the
Future of Volunteering whose year long consultation and research culminated in 2008 with the publication of
the ‘Manifesto for Change’. It recommended a series of changes to enable volunteers and volunteering to
develop further over the next ten years to achieve its vision that ‘volunteering becomes part of the DNA of
our society’. At a local level, Herefordshire Council has undertaken to increasing volunteering by 3.5%
between 2008-2011 whilst all sectors recently committed to good practice in volunteering through the
Herefordshire Compact Volunteering Code of Practice.
Similarly the value of the positive impact of volunteering on the volunteers themselves continues to be
acknowledged. It helps improve health and wellbeing and provides opportunities for individuals to acquire
skills and knowledge that can enhance career development or employment prospects. With the current
economic recession and much higher unemployment, the Department of Works and Pension has been actively
encouraging the unemployed to take up volunteering.
The 2006 Value of Volunteering report attempted to place an economic value on volunteering in the county.
It estimated that if volunteers were paid the local median hourly rate of pay, the wage bill would be
£44million per annum. This new study has replicated these calculations to produce an up to date figure and
additionally summarises research undertaken by Herefordshire Volunteer Centre to illustrate that the value of
volunteering goes beyond a wage replacement model.
6 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
How Many People Volunteer?
Trying to quantify the number of people volunteering has always been problematic. Firstly, the term
volunteering can be described in many ways and means different things to different people. There is no
statutory or universal definition but Volunteering England, in its Strategy for Infrastructure 2004-2014,
describes volunteering as:
‘The act of a person giving their time for no financial reward; of their own volition for the good of others, society or the environment; and in so doing encompasses all such activity, however it is described by the individuals or organisations involved in the process.’
The recently published Herefordshire Compact Volunteering Code of Practice simplified the above definition:
‘Volunteering is an activity that involves spending time, without payment, doing something that aims to benefit individuals (other than close relatives), groups or the environment.’
Whichever definition is adopted, some volunteers would not identify their activities with this terminology;
people undertaking volunteering may just simply not see themselves as volunteers but rather as ‘lending a
hand’ or ‘helping out’. This is particularly true of individuals undertaking activities in their local
communities such as serving on a residents association or Parish Council, organising the flowers in the local
church, helping out with a local fete or jumble sale. Likewise in sports, many people giving their time freely
to be, for example, coaches, umpires, referees, membership secretaries and treasurers, would never consider
themselves to be ‘volunteers’. To try and overcome this difficulty a nationally agreed question has been
recently introduced by the Office for the Third Sector for all local authorities to use when collecting data on
volunteering. The wording does not use the word volunteer at all but asks people about the unpaid help they
give – see section on Volunteering in Herefordshire, p.7
A further problem in calculating the number of people volunteering is differentiating between formal and
informal volunteering. Formal volunteering refers to activities undertaken through a not for profit
organisation, be it a small community group consisting entirely of volunteers, a countywide voluntary group
or through a national charity or a statutory body such as a school or hospital. Informal volunteering refers to a
wide range of different kinds of unpaid mutual help and co-operation between individuals within
communities. In the Communities and Local Government Citizenship surveys (formerly known at the Home
Office Citizenship surveys), informal volunteering has been defined as ‘giving unpaid help by an individual to
people who are not relatives’.
Trying to measure how many hours of volunteering are undertaken also presents difficulties. Volunteering
takes place with varying frequency, from those who volunteer a regular number of hours per week to those
who volunteer for a one-off project such as arranging a festival through to those who volunteer on an ad hoc
basis such as is often the case with fundraising. Many surveys present volunteers with specific frequency
categories such as ‘at least once a year’, ‘at least once a month’, ‘so many hours per week’ etc. This can be
confusing and may lead to incorrect recording. For example, if someone helps out at a playscheme for 5
hours a day for 6 weeks over the summer holidays, and does no other volunteering, they may consider they
volunteer weekly, even though they will not have averaged that over the whole year.
The National Picture Since 2001 the government has conducted a regular Citizenship Survey which seeks the views and
experiences from 10,000 adults in England and Wales on a range of issues, including volunteering. The
surveys which are conducted through face to face interviews differentiate between formal and informal
volunteering and, unlike earlier national surveys, include 16-18 year olds.
7 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Table 1 - Formal Volunteering in England and Wales Source: Citizenship Surveys 2004-2009
Herefordshire
In 2005 and 2007, Herefordshire Council sought information on the level of formal volunteering being
undertaken in the county through its Customer Satisfaction Surveys. Since the beginning of 2008 each local
authority in England has been required to carry out a ‘Place Survey’, locally known as the ‘Herefordshire
Quality of Life Survey’. The aim of these surveys, which are conducted every two years, is to find out what
people think of the quality of life in their local area, to monitor the performance of local public services, and
to gather data on a number of National Indicators (NIs) which local authorities had prioritised from a suite of
198 in its Local Area Agreements. In Herefordshire, one of these is NI6 “Participation in regular
volunteering”, an indicator which only four local authorities in the West Midlands have adopted.
Herefordshire Council undertook its first Quality of Life postal survey in late 2008. Sent to a randomly
generated 4,200 (5%) households in the county for completion by any resident of 18 years or over, there was a
46% response rate. In line with the national framework of questions, the word volunteering was not used.
Instead people were asked about the unpaid help their gave:
We are interested to know about the unpaid help people give. Please think about any group(s), club(s) or organisations(s) that you’ve been involved with during the last 12 months. That’s anything you’ve taken part in, supported, or that you’ve helped in any way, either on your own or with others. For example helping at a youth or day centre, helping to run an event, campaigning or doing administrative work. Please exclude giving money.
The results showed that 37% of respondents had provided unpaid help in the last 12 months whilst 29% had
given unpaid help at least once a month, which puts Herefordshire in the highest 25% of local authorities in
England. In terms of how Herefordshire compares to the national volunteering picture, it is possible to
compare the percentage figures for those volunteering formally at least once in the last 12 months and at least
once in the last month. Although fewer people (37%) appear to be volunteering at least once a year compared
to the national figure of 41% (Citizenship survey 2008-09), the proportion of those volunteering at least once
in the last four weeks is higher at 29% than the government figure of 26%.
29% 27% 26%
44% 43% 41%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
2005 2007-8 2008-9
Formal Volunteering in England and Wales
Proportion who have volunteered at least once in past twelve months
Proportion who have volunteered at least once in past month
8 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Table 2: Formal Volunteering Activity Herefordshire & England 2008-09 Source: Herefordshire Quality of Life Survey 2008
Of the 37% volunteering in Herefordshire, when asked how many hours they gave on average per week or on
an annual basis, 59% answered less than 2 hours per week, 27% between 2-4 hours and 13% undertook 5
hours or more. This means as a percentage of the whole adult population, 22% volunteer less than 2 hrs, 10%
2-4 hours per week and 5% 5 hours or more (see Table 3). Further information regarding the age, gender,
disability, employment status and geographical location of those who volunteer can be found in the Appendix.
Table 3: Frequency of Volunteering in Herefordshire as a percentage of the whole population Source: Herefordshire Quality of Life Survey 2008 It is interesting to see however that the percentage of people engaging in formal volunteering for an average
of 2 hours per week or more has remained constant during the period 2005-2008 as represented by Table 4.
37%
29%
41%
26%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
At least once in last 12months
At least once in last 4 weeks
Herefordshire
England
22%
10%
5%
0
5
10
15
20
25
Less than 2 hours per week (Less
than about 100 hours a year)
2-4 hours per week (about 100-
200 hours a year)
5 hours per week or more (about
250 hours year or more)
Percentage
9 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Table 4: Percentage of people in Herefordshire engaging in formal volunteering for an average of 2 hours per week or more
Taking the data for those volunteering from this survey, it is possible to project countywide figures for
volunteering activity. Given the population of Herefordshire for adults (18 years and over) is 143,300 (ONS
2008 mid-year estimates), Table 5 shows the numbers volunteering in the different frequency categories in
Herefordshire.
Table 5: Analysis of time given by volunteers in Herefordshire Provided by Herefordshire Council Research Team
17%
15%
17%
15%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
2005
2006
2007
2008
90279 (63%)
Do not Volunteer 31526 (22%)
volunteer for less than 2 hours
per week
7165 (5%)
volunteer for 5 hours or more per week
14330 (10%)
volunteer between 2-4 hours
per week
10 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Placing An Economic Value on Volunteering in Herefordshire
With these percentages it is now possible to approximate the value of volunteering to Herefordshire but
consideration needs to be given to the best method to achieve this. In the past, studies have taken the number
of registered charities or the number of voluntary and community groups registered with a local Council for
Voluntary Services and multiplied these by an average number of volunteering hours undertaken. This did
not produce a very realistic figure. In our previous study we adopted the figures collected by Herefordshire
Council in its Customer Satisfaction Survey on the basis that although we knew how many charities were
registered with the Charity Commission we did not accurately know how many other voluntary and
community groups, including sports and hobby groups who have many volunteers, actually existed in
Herefordshire. For these very same reasons we have adopted the data collected in the Council’s current Place
Survey 2008.
There are several methods to calculate the value of volunteering:
a) The Volunteer Investment and Value Audit, more commonly known by its acronym VIVA, was
developed by the Institute of Volunteering Research. Now a well tried and tested tool, VIVA enables an
organisation to measure the value of its volunteers. It recommends that volunteer roles should be
matched to the equivalent role in the local employment market and the relevant hourly rate. To this is
added a recommended 20% to cover employer’s national insurance, holiday pay and a pension
contribution. From this figure a deduction should be made for the resources used to support the
volunteers such as out of pocket expenses, the cost of a volunteer co-ordinator, recruitment and
marketing costs, induction and training. Without knowing the exact roles that volunteers undertake in
each organisation, this approach is not viable for a countywide calculation.
b) Some funders, including European Social Funding, have also adopted a similar approach by applying
different hourly rates of pay to different volunteering roles and Herefordshire Council currently uses the
following values for match funding:
General Volunteering £9.00
Researcher / Trainer / Co-ordinator £10.85
Manager £13.85
Self employed £10.00
As with the VIVA model, it is not possible to breakdown individual volunteer roles on a countywide basis.
c) Calculate the economic value as in a and b above plus the economic capital created by volunteering. In
terms of the volunteers themselves this could be the value of training and the acquisition of skills leading to
employment, thereby reducing the benefits bill. In terms of the beneficiaries of the volunteering it could be a
community which, through increased voluntary activity, sees improved health or reduced crime thereby
reducing the costs for example to the NHS, the police service and the council tax payer. These sorts of
financial and economic benefits would be very difficult to calculate on a local basis, let alone a county level.
d) Volunteering England advocate that the simplest method is to use the following formula to calculate the
economic value of volunteers to demonstrate what the wage bill would be, either nationally or locally, if the
services of volunteers were replaced with those of paid workers:
Total number of volunteering hours x local average hourly rate of pay
The Volunteering England formula was adopted in the 2006 Valuing Volunteering in Herefordshire report
and, for the reasons above and consistency and clarity, we have used this again. As before, we have opted for
the median rather than the mean average hourly rate of pay. The median provides a ‘mid-point’ figure for
earnings rather than the mean which can be skewed by high earners. This is exemplified by a significant
11 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Frequency of volunteering
(mean average per year) Total No. Of
Volunteers
Total Hours per
year
Value
@ £10.22ph
50 hrs (less than 100hrs band) 31,526 1,576,300 £16,109,786
150 hrs (100-200 hrs band) 14,330 2,149,500 £21,967,890
300hrs (more than 250hrs band) 7,165 2,149,500 £21,967,890
Total 53,021 5,875,300 £60,045,566
difference in the mean average gross hourly rate of £11.28 in Herefordshire in 2009 compared to the median
average hourly rate of £8.66 found in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). Given that the
Herefordshire Council uses median hourly rates in their Quarterly Economic Reports, it would seem
appropriate to also adopt the median value.
As Herefordshire’s rates of pay are some of the lowest in the UK - the national median hourly rate for 2009
was £11.03 and for the West Midlands £10.25 – this rate would appear to be high. Instead we have added
18% to the £8.66 median hourly rate for Herefordshire to take account of standard employer overheads, a rate
that is commonly used in the voluntary and community sector, resulting in an hourly rate of £10.22. We have
also based our figures on a 37hr week.
Table 6: Economic Value of Volunteering in Herefordshire
53,000 adults
volunteer in
Herefordshire
They give
5,876,000
hours per
annum
This is the
equivalent of
3,054 full
time workers
The value of volunteering in Herefordshire is £60 million
12 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Beyond the Economic Value of Volunteering
The Impact of Volunteering in Herefordshire In addition to producing a wage-replacement figure for volunteering, the 2006 Value of Volunteering to
Herefordshire also looked at some of the other benefits that volunteering bring to the individual such as better
health, increased employability skills and reducing social isolation, or to the wider community such as a
reduction in crime and community cohesion. The report referred to the Volunteering Impact Assessment
Toolkit (VIAT) recently produced by the Institute of Volunteering Research which had been developed to
measure the impact of volunteering on the volunteers themselves, the people or things the volunteering aims
to assist and the wider community. However, at that time no example had been found where the toolkit had
been used by an organisation. So in this report Herefordshire Voluntary Action decided to address this
omission and undertake a research project based on the toolkit.
Introduction This was a relatively small scale research study designed to assess the impact of volunteering upon
volunteers, organisations, beneficiaries and the wider community in Herefordshire. Specifically looking at the
work of two organisations -EnviroAbility and Age Concern Ross on Wye - a research assignment was
completed between December 2009 and March 2010 using the Institute for Volunteering Research Impact
Assessment Toolkit whereby quantitative and qualitative data was collected using a range of techniques
including focus groups, telephone interviews and questionnaires. Thirty in depth interviews were completed
with stakeholders including volunteers, paid staff, wider community and service users.
Purpose of the Research • Understand how and why volunteering works for organisations.
• Provide evidence to develop and improve volunteering programmes
• Give feedback to volunteers on the impacts and benefits of their contribution.
• Demonstrate the value of volunteers work, raising the status of voluntary work.
• Produce evidence to support organisations future funding strategies for organisation.
• Add to quality assurance systems ensuring feedback from service users influences future service
delivery.
• Contribute towards community accountability.
• Recognition and promotion of social and personal benefits that volunteering brings to volunteers.
• Improve public relations, highlighting the impact of volunteering.
• Providing information to influence policy development supporting volunteer friendly developments.
EnviroAbility This is an environmental charity based in Ross on Wye offering employment for disadvantaged groups within
the Ross area. They and their members helped recycle more than a thousand tonnes of household rubbish
every day, as well as delivering other services such as a book swap shop, ink cartridge recycling etc.
Age Concern Ross on Wye Aims to promote the wellbeing of all older people and help make later life a fulfilling and enjoyable
experience. In order to achieve this, Age Concern relies on volunteers to befriend and help elderly people, and
look out for their interests.
13 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Physical Capital Changes in the quality and quantity of services provided.
Human Capital Improvements in the levels of personal development, self esteem, team
work etc of all stakeholders involved.
Economic Capital The real costs and value of volunteering and any improved value for money
of other services.
Social Capital Improved levels of trust, community participation, lifestyles and enhanced
networks.
Cultural Capital Increases in cultural awareness of individuals within communities and
organisations in the delivery of services.
Volunteering Impact Measurements - Survey Results Paid Staff All paid staff interviewed were directly involved in the management, administration and support of
volunteers.
Q1. How satisfied are paid staff in the services they are delivering? Quantity of services 67%
Quality of services 100%
Volunteers bring fresh ideas 88%
Q2. What do volunteers contribute to the work of paid staff and their organisations?
77%
100% 100%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Volunteers make my job easier
Volun teers help the organisation to develop
Volunteers improve our reputation in the
community
Respondees in Agreement
14 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Q3. How do volunteers affect your organisation economically? Volunteers are value for money 100%
They allow us to extend our services or deliver new services 100%
Volunteers are a significant source of fundraising for the organisation 66%
Volunteers often go onto get paid work within our organisation 33%
Volunteers add diversity to the organisation 89%
Q4. How much do you agree with the following statements about recruiting and retaining volunteers?
Service Users
Q1. How satisfied are you with the services you receive from volunteers? The amount of help and services received 100%
The quality of help and services received 100%
Volunteers bring in fresh ideas on serving our users 54%
Q 2 Have volunteers contributed to improving the following?
33%
78%
67%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
It is easy to recruit volunteers
Volunteers are likely to stay with us for a
long time
Volunteers help attract other
volunteers to the organisation
Respondees in Agreement
56% 55%
44%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Self confidence and self esteem
Personal development such as communication and
practical skills
My general health and well beingR
espondees in Agreement
15 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Q3. How have volunteers helped to improve my social links?
Q4. Has the service you receive from volunteers had an effect on you economically? Volunteers have improved my chances of finding a paid job 23%
If it wasn’t for volunteers I would not be able to afford this help:
Q 5. What would be the consequences for you in losing this volunteer service? Feeling lost and very isolated 78%
Would not be able to manage my day to day life 72%
Become a burden on other services 78%
35%
56%
77%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
New friendships and contacts
A sense of trust in others and feeling this
is a safe place to live
A feeling of being included and not
alone
Respondees in Agreement
22%
22%33%
22%
Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree
Agree
Neither
16 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Volunteers
Q1. What do you have access to as a volunteer? Training 66%
Social events 0%
Support for your volunteering 100%
Q2. Have you gained personally from being a volunteer? Personal development including confidence, self esteem, experience 32%
Skill development including team work & practical skills 32%
General health and well-being 100%
Q3. Have there been economic and financial effects of volunteering? Out of pocket expenses are reimbursed 100%
I have access to free training 100%
I have increased my ability to get paid work 30%
Q4. How have you gained socially from volunteering? A sense of making a useful contribution and helping others 100%
The feeling of being included and not alone 100%
A sense of being part of a community 100%
Making new friends 33%
Q5. Have you moved into employment as a result of volunteering? None of the people interviewed had moved into employment as a result of volunteering.
Community Q1. How much do you know about Age Concern Ross on Wye & EnviroAbility? Are you aware of Age Concern Ross on Wye, EnviroAbility and the services it provides? 100%
Are you satisfied with the amount of help or services provided 100%
Do they provide high quality services 100%
Q2. How does volunteering impact on the local community? It increases the usefulness of people in the local community 100%
It improves the community`s skill base 100%
It improves the health and wellbeing of the community 100%
Q3. Has help & services made a difference to the community economically? Providing valuable services that would not otherwise be available. 100%
Does volunteering improve employment chances and financial well-being. 100%
Does volunteering save money in public services 100%
Q 4. Does volunteering have social effects on the community? Improving communication in the community 100%
Getting more people involved in the community 100%
Would there be major effects if the organisations and services were lost 100%
17 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Evaluation (Scale: very good/a strong effect / quite good/a moderate effect/poor with little or no effect)
1. Physical Capital (very good / a strong effect) Both paid staff and service users recognised the quality and amount of work undertaken by volunteers which
had strong effects on the services provided. Age Concern Ross on Wye has 50 volunteers who deliver work
equivalent to 10 full time staff through weekly social clubs, information and advice, support visits, speech
therapy and nail cutting services. They equate to a significant service deliverer with high impact upon its
service users. Similarly, EnviroAbility has over 300 volunteers who deliver the equivalent of 100 full time
staff equivalents. In the past year volunteers refurbished church pews, recycled 15-20 tons of paper, painted
275 feet of community fencing, and ran a book swap shop 6 days per week. Again, this represents a major
delivery of outputs benefitting the local community considerably, with high impact. The loss of both of these
services would leave many service users without help and remove valuable signposting to Council, Health
Authority and other services in the community.
2. Human Capital (very good / a strong effect) More than half the service users researched identified significant improvements in their skills and personal
development, gaining confidence and trusting others. A similar level of improvement was noted with
volunteers. Interview results showed noticeable improvements in motivation, willingness to try new things
and a sense of belonging. Paid staff also benefited, maintaining high motivation, feeling they were making a
worthwhile contribution and being valued within the organisation.
Skill development was evident particularly by service users and volunteers who recognised improvements in
their communication skills, ability to socialise and being better able to cope with organising their lives.
Health and wellbeing improvements were seen to be particularly high amongst those who engaging with
organisations having a range of identified needs.
3. Economic Capital (very good / a strong effect) Essential services were delivered such as care, transport and promotion of healthy living with a strong effect
in these areas. Local voluntary help, knowledge capital of local needs and acceptance showed that the
researched organisations provided unique and relevant services. It would be unlikely these services could be
provided by the statutory sector at the same costs. The two organisations combined had the equivalent of 350
volunteers which was equivalent of 110 full time staff. Both organisations prioritised service delivery with up
to 90% service delivery and 10% paid staff management and administration.
The community felt that volunteering improved people’s employability. Organisations prioritised training and
staff development opportunities. These were seen to be fully accessible with high levels of management
support. The range and quality of training is also recognised. Both organisations promote capacity building
among their service users and volunteers moving them towards self sufficiency. This is reflected in the case
studies.
Important levels of external grant funding and income generation are secured by EnviroAbility. Age Concern
Ross on Wye also has funding as a high priority to maintain their services. The need to secure external
funding remains a necessity in an increasingly competitive environment.
The community felt that volunteering improved people’s employability, accessing training or education and
getting valuable work experiences whilst also providing a means of developing new jobs in the community.
Stakeholders strongly agreed that volunteers and voluntary organisations saved public spending and relieved
pressure on public services. It also increased the value for money of public services, particularly regarding
18 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
signposting. Those service users accessing advice and information services felt it had helped the access
benefits for which they were eligible and enabled them to live more independent lives in their homes.
4. Social Capital (very good / a strong effect) The main areas of activity identified were disability, environment, education, health and care, advice
information and the provision of a range of community programmes.
Paid staff and volunteers are highly committed and highly motivated, being innovative and able to influence
the direction of the organisation. Each organisation delivers a wide range of much needed services to a
dispersed rural and urban population. Service users show high satisfaction levels perceiving services as
accessible, friendly and flexible. Also, between 70% and 80% of service users would not be able to manage
day to day life, feel isolated and be a burden on statutory services if these services were lost. The study also
shows there would be increases in the levels of social exclusion within the most vulnerable sectors of our
community.
Service users and volunteers made new friendships, contacts and accessed new networks due to their
involvement in their organisations. Levels of access to support and information were improved with increases
in the range of contacts that people can call upon. Many service users and volunteers interviewed recognised
they had initially low levels of trust of other people, feeling alone and being unwilling to look after others and
also feeling unsafe. Their subsequent experiences saw an improvement across this whole range of issues
resulting in some individuals becoming volunteers as well as service users. Additionally they became
involved in social activities that they were previously unwilling to engage in.
5. Cultural Capital (quite good / a moderate effect) Levels of ethnic and cultural diversity within the area are low and this is reflected in the opportunities to
experience different cultures. However, those interviewed had experienced an improvement in their sense of
community and belonging. They were given the opportunity to express themselves and to some extent, meet
different groups and cultures. Opportunities were also available to engage with a range of leisure and cultural
activities although this was limited by financial constraints.
Case Studies
Susan (Ross on Wye) Susan had recently moved into the area and was finding it difficult to make ends meet on her pension. After
contacting Age Concern Ross on Wye she was referred to Bill, a volunteer, who was trained as an information
and advice worker. With advice and encouragement, Susan qualified for attendance allowance and secured a
tax rebate of £500.00. She went on to join computer classes gaining in confidence and making new friends
eventually became a volunteer herself.
Mary (Ross on Wye District) Mary has relied upon Age Concern for over 10 years to provide transport in order that she can meet people
and get involved in community life. Mary volunteered and set up an “Eye to Eye” group which eventually
formed the hugely successful Visage group (Activity club for partially sighted and disabled) and is still
volunteering and getting involved in a range of other social activities.
Sara (Ross on Wye) Sara attends the Age Concern Visage sessions and was initially lacking confidence and was distrustful of
people around her. She said “The staff are so helpful and understanding and now I’ve made lots of new
friends, feel far less isolated and can stand on my own two feet. Recently, I had the confidence to ask a group
of people who were blocking the pavement with their bicycles to “Move aside please”. This was a huge step
forward for me and is due to the good work of the volunteers and paid staff at Age Concern.
19 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Review and General Comments It is not possible to draw robust conclusions drawn from the two organisations involved in this study.
However, this still provides a valuable insight into how organisations work effectively with volunteers in a
symbiotic relationship within a community perspective. Volunteers are given opportunities to develop a
range of soft skills as well as more practical skills. They are often provided with the means of contributing to
community life for genuinely altruistic reasons and being valued in the process.
It was significant that both organisations possessed paid staff and volunteers with high levels of motivation,
commitment and feeling engaged in the development of their services.
The economic benefits were high in terms of value for money, reliability, quality and extent of service
provision. Independence for service users was a high prioritiy for both organisations.
Focus group work reflected uncertainty over future core funding, if that existed. Also continued competition
for limited resources was growing in an environment of increasing demands for services.
Generally, a lower community profile was evident for organisations. This was disproportionate to the extent
of services delivered and the impact of their work.
It was also evident that some volunteers were themselves receivers of services. This was positive because the
process of volunteering was seen to have many health and social benefits.
Finally, all those service users interviewed emphasised that a loss of these services would have a major
impact upon their lives, leading to isolation, unhappiness and greater demands upon statutory services
20 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Sources
Communities and Local Government - Citizenship Surveys 2007-08, 2008-09
Herefordshire Council (2009) The Quality of Life Survey
Herefordshire Partnership (2008) Herefordshire Compact Volunteering Code of Practice
Commission on the Future of Volunteering (2008) Manifesto for Change
Institute of Volunteering Research (2005) Volunteering Impact Assessment Toolkit
Office of National Statistics (2009) The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)
2009. Available from www.statistics.gov.uk
Volunteering England (2004) Building on Success – Strategy for Volunteering
Infrastructure in England 2004-2014
Conclusions
Once again, we have endeavoured to show the scope of volunteering and its impact on Herefordshire.
Although the data collected over the period 2005-08 shows the percentage of people engaging in formal
volunteering for an average of 2 or more hours per week remained fairly constant, our experience at the
Volunteer Centre and that of other volunteer centres around the country, show there has been a significant
increase in volunteer enquiries over the last two years. This is partly due to the recession, with increased
numbers of unemployed people being encouraged to take up volunteering through Department of Works and
Pensions initiatives. Other projects such as vinvolved which encourages 16-25 year olds to participate in
volunteering have also increased numbers of people coming forward to help in their communities. Whilst in
the future the impact of the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympic Games and the International Year of
Volunteering in 2011 will both provide opportunities to showcase volunteering on a global stage, we believe
that here in Herefordshire, when the next Quality of Life Survey is conducted at the end of this year, the
number of individuals volunteering will have substantially increased.
21 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Volunteering in Herefordshire—breakdown by age, gender, disability, employment status and ward.
The 2008 Quality if Life Survey undertaken by Herefordshire Council provides details on the age, gender,
disability and employment status of those volunteering in Herefordshire.
Appendix
Volunteer at least once a month, by age group
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
18 to 44 45 to 64 65 to 74 75 and over
% of valid responses
in each group
Volunteer at least once a month, by gender
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Male Female
% of valid responses
in each group
Volunteer at least once a month, by disability
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Disabled Not disabled
% of valid responses
in each group
22 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
Volunteer at least once a month, by employment status
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
In employment Not in employment
% of valid responses
in each group
Volunteer at least once a month, by ward group
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Bromyard Area
Golden Valley Area
Hereford City North of the river
Hereford City South of the river
Hereford Surrounds
Kington Area
Ledbury Area
Leominster
Leominster Surrounds
Ross
Ross Surrounds
% of valid responses in each group
23 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
24 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre
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