A report examined how City Year, a school-based support programme, improved young people's readiness for employment, self-esteem and attitudes towards society. The City Year scheme enabled 18- to 25-year-olds to volunteer in 12 schools in London for a full academic year, offering assistance to vulnerable pupils. The report said that 95 per cent of participants during the 2012-13 academic year reported feeling better prepared for the world of work, 60 per cent found employment after completing their year, and 35 per cent planned to continue their own education. The majority of pupils who were assisted said that they had been helped with their learning in areas such as maths (83 per cent helping), writing (79 per cent), and reading (76 per cent).
Source: Evaluation of City Year London: Year three final year report, Institute for Volunteering Research
Links: Report | Project background
Date: 2013-Dec
An article said that socio-demographic characteristics and contextual data were important predictors of volunteer rates in European countries. Macro-policies might be effective tools to promote national volunteering participation, because international differences on volunteer rates smoothed with the introduction of national contextual data.
Source: Ana Gil-Lacruz and Carmen Marcuello, 'Voluntary work in Europe: comparative analysis among countries and welfare systems', Social Indicators Research, Volume 114 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
A report examined the role of community in United Kingdom society and its connection to charitable giving. It said that 44 per cent of adults gave money to their local community, many wanted to be more active in their community, and around half would give more if it was possible to see the direct local impact of the donations.
Source: Shine a Light, UK Community Foundations
Links: Report | UK Community Foundations press release | Third Sector report
Date: 2013-Dec
An article examined the impact on ex-offenders of being mentors. It said that mentoring was experienced as rewarding and mutually beneficial, but there were challenges for mentors and such activity should be voluntary, not compulsory.
Source: Laura Kavanagh and Jo Borrill, 'Exploring the experiences of ex-offender mentors', Probation Journal, Volume 60 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
A new book examined the social role of volunteering and voluntary organizations. It said that conventional wisdom about how voluntary action was understood and undertaken ignored a variety of important activities that had contributed greatly to people's quality of life and living conditions.
Source: Colin Rochester, Rediscovering Voluntary Action: The beat of a different drum, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Nov
A study examined the scale and value of volunteering in National Health Service acute trusts in England. It estimated that there were around 78,000 volunteers across all acute trusts, but the numbers varied between trusts. The report said that the volunteer profile had changed over the past five years, with volunteers having a younger and more ethnically diverse profile. The report made recommendations.
Source: Amy Galea, Chris Naylor, David Buck, and Lisa Weaks, Volunteering in Acute Trusts in England: Understanding the impact, King s Fund
Links: Report | Kings Fund press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A think-tank report examined the role of charity shops in communities in Britain. It said that, in addition to fundraising for parent charities, the shops: provided recycling services; maintained a supply of affordable goods; provided social and economic benefits to customers, donors and volunteers; and supported the economic viability of local communities. It recommended making greater use of charities in maintaining the health and well-being of volunteers, and a more explicit involvement for shops in local economic planning.
Source: Ally Paget and Jonathan Birdwell, Giving Something Back, Demos
Links: Report | Summary | Demos press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A government report examined policy and progress on social action. It discussed: the giving of money; the giving of time; community action; and the involvement of young people.
Source: Encouraging Social Action, Cabinet Office
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Nov
An article examined the development of active citizenship and social capital through volunteering in sport.
Source: Haydn Morgan, 'Sport volunteering, active citizenship and social capital enhancement: what role in the "Big Society"?', International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, Volume 5 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Aug
A paper examined the links between volunteering and employment. Volunteering on a monthly basis had a positive effect on the likelihood of people gaining employment: but volunteering on a weekly or more frequent basis had a negative effect. Volunteering had the most positive effect on employment for those aged 45-60; among those aged 26-44 it had very little effect; and for students and young people there was no positive effect. Volunteering had no particularly strong effect on job retention, and an insignificant, or even negative, correlation with wage rates.
Source: Angela Ellis Paine, Stephen McKay, and Domenico Moro, Does Volunteering Improve Employability? Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey, Working Paper 100, Third Sector Research Centre
Links: Paper | Briefing | TSRC press release
Date: 2013-Jul
An article examined why people chose to volunteer on behalf of one cause rather than another, and why some people chose not to volunteer. It said that such decisions were affected by deeply embedded cultural factors. It questioned assumptions about the potential to increase the volunteer workforce, because people found it difficult to give entirely open answers to questions about why they chose not to volunteer.
Source: Tony Chapman and Barbara McGuinness, 'Consuming values in a social market: making choices about volunteering and non-volunteering', Social and Public Policy Review, Volume 7 Issue 1
Links: Article
Date: 2013-Apr
An article examined the importance of the community context for voluntarism in England and Scotland, drawing on case study research in deprived urban areas. If expectations of further voluntarism were to be realistic and sustainable, 'discourses of localism' needed to support this at the local level and recognize the diverse range of both visible and less visible acts that took place over time. If they did not, unrealistic, unsustainable, and ultimately unachievable models and amounts of voluntary participation might be asked of communities.
Source: Mike Woolvin and Irene Hardill, 'Localism, voluntarism and devolution: experiences, opportunities and challenges in a changing policy context', Local Economy, Volume 28 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Apr
A paper provided an illustration of the official well-being valuation techniques used to value volunteering from the participant's perspective.
Source: Daniel Fujiwara, Paul Oroyemi, and Ewen McKinnon, Wellbeing and Civil Society: Estimating the value of volunteering using subjective wellbeing data, Working Paper 112, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Working paper
Date: 2013-Mar
A think-tank report called for a strategic approach to volunteering throughout the health and social care system in England. 3 million volunteers added significant value to the work of paid professionals, and were a critical but often under-appreciated part of the workforce. Volunteers played an important role in improving people's experience of care, building stronger relationships between services and communities, supporting integrated care, improving public health, and reducing health inequalities. The support that volunteers provided could be of particular value to those who relied most heavily on services, such as people with multiple long-term conditions or mental health problems.
Source: Chris Naylor, Claire Mundle, Lisa Weaks, and David Buck, Volunteering in Health and Care: Securing a sustainable future, King s Fund
Links: Report | Kings Fund press release | Community Care report
Date: 2013-Mar
An article examined how public spending affected the decision to volunteer, using a new model. It was found that volunteering was likely to decline when government intervention decreased – contrary to the theory behind the 'Big Society' programme – and that a collaborative approach to sustaining volunteering was needed.
Source: Koen Bartels, Guido Cozzi, and Noemi Mantovan, '"The Big Society", public expenditure, and volunteering', Public Administration Review, Volume 73 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Feb
An article examined volunteering by older people across Europe and the evidence for its benefits for health and well-being
Source: Guy Robertson, 'The contribution of volunteering and a wider asset based approach to active ageing and intergenerational solidarity in Europe', Working with Older People, Volume 17 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Feb