Foyle Volunteer Impact Report Introduction / backgroundHeadliners exists to provide children and young people with opportunities to utilise various forms of journalism and creative self expression to: engage in personal development as a means of enhancing their self confidence and self esteem; articulate their thoughts, perspectives and feelings on the issues that concern them; develop the degree of their communication, analytic and a range of other life skills and competencies; explore and examine complex issues in relation to the social; cultural; political and economic context shaping their lives and those of their peers and the communities they live in; afford opportunities for young people to engage with peers from different traditions and backgrounds to their own in constructive joint working ventures which nurtures and fosters good relations; provide opportunities for young people to engage with peers within structured youth-led volunteering programmes in a range of roles such as mentors; trainers; facilitators and peer educators. Volunteering activities are designed to be of mutual benefit wherein the young volunteers acquire a spectrum of skills; insights; knowledge and understanding whilst their peers gain support; encouragement; new skills and opportunities to construct new ventures that assist in their personal development; enable young people to acquire a range of practical and technical skills in relation to media production techniques.

Activities focus on team and individual projects involving devising, researching and producing radio; print; film; new media and photographic materials that examine and explore young people's perspectives on issues of importance to them and engaging in a wide range of creative expression formats taking differing approaches to the same end. This requires volunteers being provided with training, opportunities for facilitated discussion and practical support from both more experienced peers and adults in non-controlling roles. Headliners operate in both Northern Ireland and England. It has two sites in Northern Ireland, one in Belfast and one in L’Derry (the Foyle Bureau).

In 2009 Headliners Foyle were awarded funding by the Department Of Education under the Millennium Volunteer Programme, this stream of funding has been managed by Volunteer Now (formally Volunteer Development Agency) As part of the evaluation process and condition of grant agencies have been asked to carry out an impact assessment. To date 193 volunteers have been recruited through Headliners and a number of their community placement organisations in the North West that provide and support young people to undertake 50, 100, and 200 hour volunteering opportunities in the various agencies mentioned in this assessment report. Headliners in partnership with community placement organisations continue to provide an attractive range of media-based activities with excellent peer led youth work training opportunities.

Summary of key findings Overall the questionnaires show that the volunteers have had really positive experience, with the right amount of support towards training, accreditation, a good amount of social activity and a clear amount of guidance in terms of what is expected of them. The volunteers feel valued by the organisation.

Physical, Human, Economic, Social and Cultural capital have all increased, physical and human capital showing the largest increase. The answers given will definitely have been affected by

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the type of project the volunteers were taking part in and the stories they were chasing up, for example interest in the environment has not increased a huge amount, but this hasn’t strictly been a key area of focus for headliners work, so we would not have expected it to increase.

MethodologyDue to the fact that we have already gathered a large amount of qualitative data and case studies on the experience of volunteers at Headliners previous to this round of funding, we wanted to supplement that information with some solid statistics so we made the decision to create questionnaires for volunteers and questionnaires for volunteers themselves to gauge the experience of volunteering through the Headliners programme.

We chose to use 2 core questionnaires taken from the (Volunteering Impact Assessment Toolkit a practical guide for measuring the impact of volunteering 2004) for the depth of questioning across Physical, Human, Economic, Social and Cultural capitals to gauge the value placed on a variety of aspects of the volunteering experience by volunteers (see appendices for example questionnaires). We sent the volunteer questionnaires out to 102 volunteers and got a response of 49. From the 4 community placement organisations placement organisations 4 agencies returned their questionnaires. The method used was one to one interviews, electronically, postal survey, and through a number of focus groups held during July/August 2010.

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Volunteer FindingsPhysical capitala. Access to training courses and/or certificates – This demonstrates that we are supportive in terms of training, and that accreditation is seen as a core part of the training experience.

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 b. Access to social events with other volunteers and/or staff – very positive response

c. Support for volunteering through good management - very positive response

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Human Capitala.Personal Development - Big Impact shown on this

b.Skills development – Increase in communication and team skills almost across the board. Often literacy and numeracy skills are not linked so directly to experiences with us even if we are having an impact. In terms of office like technical skills – most young people are so proficient in this before they come to us that they don’t necessarily improve on this. They do gain additional technical skills using radio and film equipment though.

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c.Health and well-being – Our project is not so much about physical well being so we would not expect to have an impact on this. The fact that we have had a significant impact on mental health is interesting.

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Economic Capitala.Costs/non-repayment of out of pocket expenses

a. Value/access to free training

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c. Employability/increased earning power – Its appears that we give the right amount of support on this and that volunteering is seen as a good way of gaining further employment. Interestingly there is a significant body of people that says that volunteering has not increased employability. A questions for the future might be what exactly it is about volunteering that has increased people’s ability to find work if it doesn’t necessarily increase employability – is it the links they make, the confidence they gain etc?

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Social Capitala. Friendships, contacts and networks – There is a general increase in social links and

friendships

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b.Senses of trust in others – levels of trust have increased across the board. It would be interesting to find out exactly what it was about their volunteering that affected their levels of trust in peoples as opposed to trust in organisations for example. The two people that have noted a decrease in feeling included may be a very specific but is worth looking into as we wouldn’t want that to be a part of the volunteering experience as a rule.

b. Participation in local activities – Again a positive response/ Areas where figures are lower or have stayed the same (for example – taking part in political activities) may be as a result of the type of volunteering project they were involved in – whilst it might have been community based, it would not necessarily of had a political edge.

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Cultural Capitala. Sense of cultural (group or ethnic) identity – there was more of an increase in this

than stayed the same

b. Religious practice and faith – I find it interesting that some people found that these were impacted on at all. It would suggest that our volunteering opportunities give people time to be a bit more introspective and encourage self awareness.

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c. Culture, leisure and environment – again more of an increase than not.

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Community Representative Feedback

Names & purpose of community placement organisations involved.

1. PLAY4CHANGE St. Columb's Park House (Peace and Reconciliation Centre) Volunteering in outdoor play environment.2. Northwest Volunteers Centre - To place volunteers throughout the Northwest3. Strabane Youth Association - To recruit and support young volunteers in youth work settings.4. Gasyard Volunteer Investment project - To support and promote volunteering throughout the TRIAX area in Derry.

How much do you know about Headliners and the work its volunteers are carrying out in this area?

A Lot A Little Nothing No answer No of answers3 0 0 1 4

Looking at the work of Headliners as a whole, how do you think it is affecting the local community?

Making a noticeable difference

Making a small impact No noticeable Effects

No answer No. Of answers

4 0 0 0 4

“The MV’s project has been an excellent resource for me in that the MV’s are well trained and supported, they are an effective group of young people who are committed to their role and responsibilities. They have been responsive to the needs of the various groups they interact with, they are very professional in applying their skills and are very good at addressing the underpinning ethos of respect for diversity and equal opportunity” Eilis Gill, Play Animator St Columb’s Park House.

“The Millennium volunteer programme has benefited young volunteers by giving them the opportunity to gain accreditation, learn new skills and become more self aware. It has also meant that the Volunteer Investment Project has the opportunity to work in partnership with Headliners to develop its programme for the future”. Caroline Harkin, Volunteer Investment Project Co-coordinator.

“We have found the MV programme has enhanced our summer programmes by giving our young people not only a unique volunteering experience but also a recognised UK wide accreditation. The programme gives our Centre the opportunity to sell volunteering more effectively to young people, in regard to meeting new friends acquiring new skills etc”  Jacqueline Garnon, Manager North West Volunteer Centre.

“We feel that young people are recognised for their contribution through the Millennium Volunteer programme. Young people get the opportunity to develop and learn new skills in their roles when supporting other young people this is a marvellous opportunity for young

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people and our organisation” Seamus McElroy Area Youth Officer Strabane Youth Association.

1. To assess the impact of Headliners and its volunteers on the local community, please look at the list below and tick the appropriate box to indicate how satisfied you are with each aspect of the help or services the volunteers provide.

1. The help/services provided by the community placement organisations volunteers may have effects on the development of local residents. On a five point scale of A to E (with A = a great deal and E = not at all) how much do you think volunteers impact on these aspects of the local community.

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2. The help/services provided by volunteers may have economic effects on the community. On a five point scale of A to E (with A = a great deal and E = not at all) how much do you think the volunteers’ work contributes to each of the following.

3. The volunteers’ work may have social effects on the community. On a five point scale of A to E (with A = a great deal and E = not at all) how much do you think the volunteers’ work contributes to each of the following.

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4. The work of volunteers may have cultural effects on the community. On a five point scale of A to E (with A = a great deal and E = not at all) how much do you think the volunteers’ work contributes to each of the following.

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 Implications for Practice / RecommendationsThe award of funding by the Department of Education under the Millennium Volunteer programme has allowed Headliners Foyle to provide opportunities for young people to undertake volunteering roles in a range of activities with positive outcomes for both the volunteers and the agencies involved. To date 197 volunteers have been recruited under the Millennium Volunteer programme. Volunteers have been successful in achieving 50, 100 and 200 hour certificates. 20 volunteers have achieved OCN level 1+2 certificates in Journalism. 30 volunteers have undertaken training and received certificates in Child Protection (keeping safe) 17 volunteers have undertaken OCN level 1in youth work. 24 volunteers have undertaken training in First Aid. 60 volunteers have experienced Personal and Social development workshops. Eight volunteers have achieved OCN level 1 in the Messines experience. 12 volunteers have achieved OCN level 1 in Citizenship. Volunteers have participated in Conferences, residentials, consultation / publicity events, representing the voice of young people. Over 50 volunteers have been engaged in various media training workshops resulting in volunteers producing outputs in radio, print, film and photography, this process has involved volunteers interacting with many other young people therefore giving a much needed voice to many other young people who are deemed marginalised. Volunteers have been instrumental in bringing about change by being actively involved in decision making processes. The impact of these achievements will have a positive long-term effect for all involved. To ensure we continue to provide opportunities for new volunteers with a range of unique activities, the priority for Headliners is to secure new funding opportunities to continue to provide a much needed service for young people here in the North West.

Overall ConclusionThe positive findings from this evaluation have reinforced the need for Headliners to continue offering volunteering opportunities to young people in the future, fundamental to this process, is the need to have secure funding in place, but it is equally important that we as an organisation don’t become complacent in our approach when recruiting and managing volunteers. The impact assessment highlights the successful partnerships that have developed over the last two years; these partnerships have to be acknowledged for their commitment and dedication to ensuring positive experiences for volunteers and in maintaining a positive working relationship with Headliners Foyle.

Quotes if used open questions in methods usedFiona Hall (16)When I came to Headliners as a volunteer I didn’t think I was really that interested in media but little did I know. When we started doing radio work I realised it was something I absolutely love. It really gave me a buzz and learning editing skills was great. I have always been a science person but now the work I do in Headliners has become like a hobby to me.

Tola Stewart (16)“I really didn’t have much confidence when I came to Headliners. I’m the sort of person that may seem confident but I’m really not. Headliners was so welcoming and there was such a variety of projects to get involved in that soon I found myself interviewing people, leading story teams and even sharing my skills with new and younger members. Even my mum is so glad that I am involved in headliners because it has improved my schoolwork and my grades have gone up”.

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Thomas Thompson (18)“I started in Headliners and to be honest I never thought I would lead a story team, interview people or present in front of other young people or adults. A few years later and I have done all of this and a lot more. My family and friends have noticed a total change in me. I am a lot more confident and my communication skills are much better than they were”.Aine Cronin-McCartney (16)“I got involved with headliners because I didn’t like the way young people were all treated like troublemakers and I had heard that headliners challenges this. I discovered that they really do. I have attended many conferences about serious issues that affect young people and I have even had the nerve to stand up and give my opinion in front of big decision-makers. It really feels like we are making a difference and changing society’s negative view of young people”.Saorla Boyle (16)“I love interviewing and writing so headliners appealed to me. Since I joined I can’t believe how many other skills I have now, like; filming, editing, and photography. I have also really grown as a person and have improved my teambuilding and leadership skills through volunteering”.Megan O’Neill (17)“I know I have matured while in headliners because young people are given quite a lot of responsibility for their projects. This is really good because when you finish one you feel rewarded. Headliners does quite a lot of personal development work and looking back on the person I was when I joined I am definitely more self-aware and confident than I was”.Ciarnan (16)“I have learnt a lot about photography and how to put a radio show together. We discussed sectarianism in some sessions and I have learnt a lot about this. I think young people don’t get asked about stuff like this enough”.Emma O’Deorain (17)“It’s hard to tell adults about your personal stuff for fear of judgement or punishment and yet Headliners gives me the chance to do this. I think because we are all friends and know what it’s like being young we are brave enough to speak out and challenge the government, councils, schools etc. Headliners has taught me that if young people were to gain better press than the community would not make such generalisations”Clodagh Devine (17)“I have discovered a skill I never knew I had and that is filming. I am now at the stage where I am passing these skills on to others which is a great feeling. I have made some great friends at Headliners that I know will be friends for life and it has really helped me cope with a lot of changes in my life recently”.Ciarán aged (16)“MV has given me many great opportunities to develop new skills, before this I didn’t really think I was capable of working on things like summer camp, STAY&PLAY programmes, I love it, it’s a great way to spend time, I also enjoy the challenge of new activities for the children”Nicole aged (17)“My Mum can’t believe that I am loving this work, its great and the wains are brilliant too”

Pictures / photos    

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Appendices

Appendix One - Supplementary Volunteers’ QuestionnaireIn-Depth Questions

Physical Capital

Below are a number of statements about the training and management you have received as a volunteer. Tick the box to indicate how much you agree or disagree with each statement.

a) Access to training courses and/or certificates

AStrongly agree

BAgre

e

CNeither agree nor

disagree

DDisagre

e

EStrongly disagre

e

FNot

relevant

i) I have access to courses that are of direct relevance to my volunteering

ii) I have not been able to access courses that are of interest to me

iii) It is important to me that I can obtain accreditation or qualifications through my volunteering

iv) The training courses are of good quality

b) Access to social events with other volunteers and/or staff

AStrongly agree

BAgre

e

CNeither agree nor

disagree

DDisagre

e

EStrongly disagre

e

FNot

relevant

i) There have been a good number of social events organised

ii) The social events are not well attended

iii) The social events are enjoyable and useful

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iv) The social events are held at convenient times and locations

c) Support for volunteering through good management

AStrongly

agree

BAgree

CNeither agree nor

disagree

DDisagree

EStrongly disagree

FNot

relevant

i) I am satisfied with the awards/certificates I have received for my volunteering

ii) I do not feel my skills are well utilised

iii) I am aware of what is expected of me most of the time

iv) I am aware of what I can expect from the organisation most of the time

v) I get support whenever I need it

vi) I would like the volunteering to be better organised

vii)

People value the contribution I make to the organisation

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Human Capital

People can gain personally from volunteering in a variety of ways. Tick the box that indicates whether the following have increased or decreased for you as a result of your volunteering. a) Personal development

AIncreased greatly

BIncrease

d

CStayed

the same

DDecrease

d

EDecreased greatly

FNot

relevant

i) My confidence in my own abilities

ii) My sense of self-esteem

iii) My sense that I am making a useful contribution

iv) My awareness of the effects of my actions on others

v) My sense of motivationvi) My willingness to try

new thingsvii) The sense that I have

things to look forward to in my life

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b) Skills development

AIncreased greatly

BIncrease

d

CStayed

the same

DDecrease

d

EDecreased greatly

FNot

relevant

i) My ability to communicate with other people

ii) My social and communication skills

iii) My ability to work as part of a team

iv) My ability to make decisions

v) My ability to lead or encourage others

vi) My ability to organise my time

vii) Vocational or job-related skills, such as childcare or conservation skills

viii)

Literacy and numeracy skills

ix) Technical skills, such as office work or I.T. skills

c) Health and well-being

AIncreased greatly

BIncrease

d

CStayed

the same

DDecrease

d

EDecreased greatly

FNot

relevant

i) My physical health and well-being

ii) My mental health and well-being

iii) My fitness levels

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Economic Capital

Below are a number of statements about financial or economic aspects of your volunteering. Tick the box to indicate how much you agree or disagree with each statement.

a) Costs/non-repayment of out of pocket expenses

AStrongly

agree

BAgree

CNeither agree nor

disagree

DDisagree

EStrongly disagree

FNot

relevant

i) My out of pocket expenses are reimbursed promptly

ii) I can claim my travel and other expenses if I wish to

iii) I sometimes find myself out of pocket as a result of volunteering

b) Value/access to free training

AStrongly

agree

BAgree

CNeither agree nor

disagree

DDisagree

EStrongly disagree

FNot

relevant

i) The organisation gives me access to further training free

ii) I have benefited from the opportunities for further training and education

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c) Employability/increased earning power

AStrongly

agree

BAgree

CNeither agree nor

disagree

DDisagree

EStrongly disagree

FNot

relevant

i) My volunteering has increased my ability to get paid work

ii) The organisation has helped me with looking for paid employment

iii) My financial situation has improved because of my volunteering

iv) My employability has not increased as a result of being a volunteer

v) Volunteering has improved my chances of being recognised or promoted in my paid job

Social Capital

People can gain socially from volunteering. Tick the box that indicates whether the following have increased or decreased for you as a result of your volunteering. a) Friendships, contacts and networks

AIncreased greatly

BIncrease

d

CStayed

the same

DDecreased

EDecreased

greatly

FNot

relevant

i) My range of friendships ii) The number of contacts

that I can call on

iii) My participation in social gatherings

iv) My support and information networks

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b) Sense of trust in others

AIncreased greatly

BIncrease

d

CStayed

the same

DDecreased

E Decreased

greatly

FNot

relevant

i) My trust in other peopleii) My trust in voluntary

organisationsiii) My trust in

organisations in general

iv) A feeling of being included and not alone

v) My willingness to look out for other people

vi) Feeling that this is a safe place to live

c) Participation in local activities

AIncreased greatly

BIncrease

d

CStayed

the same

DDecrease

d

EDecreased greatly

FNot

relevant

i) My sense of being part of this community

ii) My willingness to get involved in local activities

iii) My interest in doing more volunteering

iv) Opportunities to take part in local campaigns or community actions

v) Taking part in political activities

vi) Environmental awareness and action

vii) My interest in joining local groups, projects or clubs

viii)

My sense of having a say in local matters

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Cultural Capital

People can gain in other ways from volunteering. Tick the box that indicates whether the following have increased or decreased for you as a result of your volunteering.

a) Sense of cultural (group or ethnic) identity

AIncreas

ed greatly

BIncrease

d

CStayed

the same

DDecreased

E Decreased

greatly

FNot

relevant

i) My understanding of different cultures

ii) My sense of belonging to the community

iii) Opportunities to express different aspects of my identity

b) Religious practice and faith

AIncreas

ed greatly

BIncrease

d

CStayed

the same

DDecreased

EDecreased

greatly

FNot

relevant

i) The strength of my religious faith

ii) My ability to practice my religion

iii) Opportunities to express these aspects of my identity

c) Culture, leisure and environment

AIncreased greatly

BIncrease

d

CStayed

the same

DDecreased

EDecreased

greatly

FNot

relevant

i) Opportunities to engage in cultural activities such as art, theatre and dance

ii) Opportunities to take part in leisure activities like hobbies/sports

iii) The quality of the local environment

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Appendix TwoCore Community Representatives’ Questionnaire

In order to assess the impact of volunteers from our organisation on the community we are undertaking a survey of community groups and agencies. To that end, we would be very grateful if you would complete this questionnaire. Your answers will be treated confidentially and will not be passed on to anyone else.

Introduction

Name of your organisation

Briefly, what is its role or aim?

How much do you know about X (the organisation) and the work its volunteers are carrying out in this area?

A lot Please answer the remaining questions A little Please answer the remaining questions Nothing Thank you for your help – please return the questionnaire

Looking at the work of X’s volunteers as a whole, how do you think it is affecting the local community?

Making a noticeable difference Making a small impact No noticeable effects

Impact of Volunteering

1. To assess the impact of X and its volunteers on the local community, please look at the list below and tick the appropriate box to indicate how satisfied you are with each aspect of the help or services the volunteers provide.

AVery

satisfied

BFairly

satisfied

CNeither

satisfied nor dissatisfied

DFairly

dissatisfied

EVery

dissatisfied

FNot

relevant

a) The amount of help or services they provide for local people

b) The quality of the help

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or services they provide

c) Innovation in the help and services provided

2. The help/services provided by X’s volunteers may have effects on the development of local residents. On a five point scale of A to E (with A = a great deal and E = not at all) how much do you think volunteers impact on these aspects of the local community.

Aa great

deal

B C D Enot at

all

FNot

relevant

a) The personal development of individuals within the community

b) The community’s skills basec) The health and well-being of

people in the community

3.The help/services provided by volunteers may have economic effects on the community. On a five point scale of A to E (with A = a great deal and E = not at all) how much do you think the volunteers’ work contributes to each of the following.

Aa great

deal

B C D Enot at

all

FNot

relevant

a) Providing valuable services that wouldn’t otherwise be available

b) Improving people’s employment chances and financial well-being

c) Saving money in public services e.g. through lower crime rates

4.The volunteers’ work may have social effects on the community. On a five point scale of A to E (with A = a great deal and E = not at all) how much do you think the volunteers’ work contributes to each of the following.

Aa great

deal

B C D Enot at

all

FNot

relevant

a) Access to contacts and networks

b) The sense of trust in othersc) Participation in local activities

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5.The work of volunteers may have cultural effects on the community. On a five point scale of A to E (with A = a great deal and E = not at all) how much do you think the volunteers’ work contributes to each of the following.

Aa great

deal

B C D Enot at

all

FNot

relevant

a) A sense of group or ethnic identity

b) Religious practice and faithc) Participation in cultural,

environmental and leisure activities

Other issues

6.Are there any negative or unsatisfactory effects of the volunteers’ work on the local community? Please describe them and say why they have a negative effect

7.Is there anything else that you would like to say about the volunteers and the effects they have on the community? Please write it in here.

8.Would you refer someone to X as a potential user or recipient of their volunteer services?

Yes No

9.If yes, what do you think would be the main benefits to them?

10.If no, why? What would be the disadvantages or drawbacks?

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Please return this questionnaire to:

Thank you very much for your help.

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