As the UK contemplates a post-lockdown world, we must start thinking about the future of volunteering. In the past few weeks, we have seen an outpouring of goodwill sweep our nation, with individuals and groups stepping in to help vulnerable people at a time when the Government, local authorities and the charity sector have all struggled to cope.
We at the UK Community Network (UKCN) are one such group, set up as the scale of the COVID-19 problem became evident. The situation we faced was one that most couldn’t have imagined. Hundreds of people have since signed up in response to our call for volunteers and we have also been working with many other groups around the country. Without them, already over-stretched resources would have been brought to the verge of collapse under the deluge of demand.
These were often not ‘the usual suspects,’ those regular volunteers, who all too often we take for granted. The irony cannot be lost that many of these self-same people are now confined to their own homes.
What has made the situation more complex is that a mobile society means children living hundreds of miles away from their parents. As a result, without family members to turn to, and with demand at an all-time high, even the most independent have found themselves needing outside help.
It could have proved a recipe for disaster. However, if there were fears that this was would leave a huge hole in the Third Sector safety net, they were allayed. Far from being a selfish - even selfie - society, they wanted to play their part in this national emergency. For many, it was the first time they had volunteered.
All they needed was to be pointed in the right direction and to be put in contact with the people who needed their help. As a volunteer agency, that was where we came in, putting volunteers in touch with those that needed them. So, where do we go from here?
Can we afford to allow this huge reservoir of grassroots goodwill to dry up once this crisis has ended? With every day that passes, we come closer to the end of the lockdown. Life will slowly return to normal for the majority of people. Meanwhile, the vulnerable have many more anxious weeks, months, perhaps even years ahead of them.
No one is in any doubt about the pressures facing the Government, local government, our other public services and the traditional Third Sector. It’s clear that people want to help, but we must be more flexible in our approach to providing it. Lives may never be the same after this, but if we are flexible now, we will have hard-wired resilience.
We must build in a tailor-made approach aimed at the volunteer. For some, it is simply a case of stepping up in the face of a crisis and solving a single problem. However, it’s clear that many are willing to stay on and continue to help, although the focus of their efforts will need to adapt as the response to the crisis continues to change.
By finding the best fit for an individual volunteer, assessing their skill-set and identifying the right role for them the UK Community Network can put professional expertise to its best use.
It’s clear that one of the barriers holding people back in the past is the bureaucracy surrounding the organisations they want to help. Their skills wasted by organisations apparently unable to accommodate or appreciate the talents they have on offer. These ‘gig-volunteers’ often don’t want or need to attend meetings; to enhance their social life; or be tied down to a set number of hours, or one particular cause: they just want to do good for society.
Both central and local government are currently trying to understand the newly emerged volunteering landscape in the UK, after being taken by surprise by the generosity of the people embracing their communities and the NHS.
The short to medium-term economic impact of coronavirus will only create more demand for volunteers. If we are going to act effectively, we must act now, and not waste this precious goodwill brought about by this crisis.
Marina Kim is the founder of UK Community Network
