the value of volunteering to herefordshire

1 Herefordshire Volunteer Centre

The Value of Volunteering to Herefordshire

April 2010


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


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


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


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.


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.


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


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


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


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


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


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.


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


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


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


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


22%

22%33%

22%

Strongly Agree

Strongly Disagree

Agree

Neither


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%


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


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.


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


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.


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


in each group

Volunteer at least once a month, by disability

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Disabled Not disabled


in each group


Volunteer at least once a month, by employment status

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

In employment Not in employment


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

the value of volunteering to herefordshire

Documents

herefordshire council

economic value of volunteering

adults volunteer

realistic value

economic contribution

vital services

year volunteers

positive contribution