Case Study: Volunteers Week

Every year in the UK approximately 21 million adults get involving in volunteering. Some do a few hours a year, some a few hours each week � but whatever their contribution, each and everyone makes a difference to the quality of life in all our communities.

It has been estimated that a total of 4.4 billion hours are volunteered each year in the UK, which is equivalent to a �40 billion annual wage bill. Yet volunteers do it for nothing, often wanting only one thing is return � someone to say thank you. It sounds simple, yet 33 per cent of people who give up volunteering do so because they feel their efforts are not appreciated.

Volunteers Week - now in its thirteenth year - is an opportunity to say thank you to all volunteers. It provides an exciting high profile platform for volunteer-involving organisations across the UK to recognise, reward and recruit volunteers.

During 1999 approximately 15,000 organisations participated in Volunteers Week - large household name charities, community groups, hospitals, residents and neighbourhood associations, schools, youth clubs, sport clubs, museums and theatre groups to name just a few.

They held parties, presented certificates, sent thank you cards, organised recruitment drives, set up information stands all aimed at celebrating volunteers and encouraging more people to get involved.

But Volunteers Week is not just about having fun, it also promotes active citizenship. People giving their time to help meet social need and gaining personally by developing new skills and a sense of satisfaction. Volunteering helps build better communities, combating social exclusion by improving people�s employability and their health, tackling crime, improving access to facilities and extending reach, particularly amongst those who are marginalised or excluded.

Volunteers Week 2000 will be an important catalyst for community alliances, enabling better information and skills sharing amongst volunteering-involving organisations, providing the perfect opportunity to recognise all those who give so much to their communities and encouraging more people to get active.

And with help from the Charities Board, Volunteers Week 2000 and beyond will be even bigger and better than ever before.

Volunteers Week is co-ordinated by the National Centre for Volunteering in partnership with the Northern Ireland Volunteer Development Agency (NIVDA), Volunteer Development Scotland (VDS), Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA), National Association for Volunteer Bureaux (NAVB) and the Active Community Unit at the Home Office (ACU).