Please could someone talk to me about charities..I’ve been trying to volunteer for ages!

[Katy001]

Since before Covid, I’ve been trying to get involved with helping women’s charities or children’s charities.

I’ve spoken to a few charities but I almost feel like a bit of a hindrance. One lady was really nice and said she may have something for me to do, then I never heard from her again. Then last week I took some donations to a children’s charity and the lady was also really nice and said they’d be in touch as they needed some help wrapping Christmas presents. When I followed up, she didn’t reply. I follow her on social media and she’s always on it, but I don’t want to keep bugging her.

My job is in corporate PR, where the expectation is that emails are replied to instantly, things are generally followed up on within the day etc. So, this is a really different way of communicating (or not communicating !)

I don’t want to hassle people as I know Covid must have turned everything on it’s head. It’s not what I’m used to though and it feels a bit strange. Is it normal in the charity sector? Is it best just to back off?

Has your nearest town got a 'volunteer bureau' type organisation. All charities looking for volunteers in one handy place. Your council will know.

I think this is quite unusual and not very good that they haven’t returned your emails or calls. However I know where I work we aren’t using our volunteers at the moment simply because there isn’t enough work To do and because of the risk assessment needed.

You can try Charityjob.co.uk or Do-it.org - both will have local voluntary roles in your area.
I'd imagine most charities are either run of their feet, short of staff due to COVID or run by volunteers who may not be able to respond immediately or be technically savvy. Keep trying, you'll find something. & you can also look on the jobs/careers pages of charities as voluntary roles will also be advertised there.

That's not typical, in my experience. I work in the charity sector and it's part of the culture that volunteers and supporters are priceless and should be treated as such.

Having said that, and not trying to make excuses, charities are laying people off left right and centre. Back office staff are decimated and running on less resource, increased need and very little break from the endless battle to keep their cause going.

It's also quite difficult to find fulfilling and useful roles for new volunteers. Many historic volunteers are over 70 and had to stop volunteering during the first lockdown. So charities have found alternative roles for those who wish to continue where they can socially distance. Many charity shops have not been able to reopen.

And staff are being furloughed or made redundant, it is difficult to allow a volunteer to do the work that staff member would have done.

Every person ( staff and volunteer) in the charity I work for is now doing a different role. And sometimes doing more than one role. So I can see how an email or a phone message can be missed. A poor excuse, I know.

Do,you have specific skills or experience to offer? If you do, it might be worth dropping another message to say what you can offer, when you're available and what experience you have. It helps someone to match you to a role or activity they need fulfilling.

Please persist, even if you leave it a few months for things to settle. Volunteers are worth their weight in gold to every charity I've been involved with.

What kind of volunteering role are you looking for? Many will be in need of Trustees. Others might be struggling with risk assessments due to COVID. Have you tried community transport or food banks? I would have thought they would want people.

I agree it's probably best to look on the sites that are actively advertising for volunteers eg; Do It Org or your local council will have its own site. I volunteer with in an organisation that is very much 'in the news' at the moment and we get many offers from people wanting to volunteer but we genuinely don't have any opportunities at the moment, many of our existing volunteers are currently shielding but we don't want to take on new people as it will take a long time to train them, risk assessments etc etc and then ask them to 'step down' when our regular volunteers are ready to return.

And I sound cynical but some people do seem to want to volunteer just to be seen to be 'doing the right thing' .... where were all these 'volunteers' months ago?

Having said that, new opportunities open up all the time so keep an eye out in your local community - only this week a really good new initiative has started up where I live and they are actively seeking volunteers.

I've worked in the charity sector a lot and have had to turn down volunteers because there wasn't enough work they could do without specific risk assessment / training / induction that would take more time than it saves.

Running a volunteer programme is a lot of work when done properly so not all charities are set up for it. Particularly during lockdown when volunteer managers may be furloughed or having to do other stuff, or it's not safe to bring volunteers to sites / offices.

Charities also tend to be understaffed so it can take longer to respond to non urgent enquiries, but do keep trying - I'm sure you will find one who would be very grateful for your help. You could try looking on doit.life/ours or contact your local schools / libraries for opportunities.

Have you thought about volunteering with local scouts/cubs/brownies? They often need people. Small charities are always keen to hear from volunteers, you may have more luck contacting a niche or local charity that you have a particular interest in rather than the big charities. I volunteer with a small charity, we love to have new volunteers, but we need to be sure they have the right skills.

Lots of organisations are really keen on help with Comms or on grant writing,both of which you might be great at.

This lists several hundred Comms based volunteering opportunities, and there would be more if you look for PR / public affairs.
www.charityjob.co.uk/volunteer-jobs?keywords=Volunteer+communications

Or if part of the appeal is the physical work, have you talked to local food banks? They support many women and families in dire need and are currently short staffed due to higher need and as many previous volunteers are highly vulnerable.

You want to look for something like "Voluntary Support" who can give details of charities that are looking out for volunteers in your area.

But round here most charities are either shut or mostly shut and aren't using their normal volunteers let alone taken on extras.
Someone I know who likes to volunteer in normal times has taken to going out for the 3-4 hours a week they'd normally spend and picking up litter. Would you think about doing something like that?

Every volunteer role I’ve had has involved an application for an advertised position.

Usually when volunteers are responsible for coordinating charitable work they don’t reply instantly to emails, as they have their own jobs/lives they’re trying to fit around their commitment.

Tbh everywhere I’ve ever worked it would be very unusual to reply instantly and to do so routinely would suggest one was sat on email all day instead of working.....not an admirable trait at all.

I work in third sector, and since March my place has had to progressively roll back operations to the point whereby we're literally running a bare-bones operation on a skeleton crew. There has been literally nothing for our volunteers to do for months.

I'd be very wary of taking their apparent indifference to heart, as they are rushed off their feet at the best of times, but right now they are probably operating on life-support only, and volunteers may be way down their list of priorities at this particular moment in time.

Please don't mistake it for ungratefulness. We are endlessly appreciative of the work our volunteers do in normal times, and we never think ill of someone with honest, well-intentioned desires to contribute to or help our organisation. It's just not a particularly volunteer-friendly situation at the moment. Trying to incorporate volunteers into the function of our place right now would cause far more issues and create far more problems for us than it would actually solve. Don't give up trying to get your foot in the door somewhere though, even if it's just to get your name on a list of potentials they can chase up once Covid is out of the way.

Believe it or not, charity staff are not sitting around twiddling their thumbs waiting for your email OP!

You wouldn't just email one corporate organisation then expect them to give you a job that day just because you requested one would you?

Try looking in the places where charities that need help are actually recruiting.

https://www.ncvo.org.uk/ncvo-volunteering/i-want-to-volunteer

This is an extremely stressful time for charity staff who are working hard to deliver their mission for service users, Trustees & funders. Why should they respond to your unsolicited request within a day?

@Katy001 - what volunteering fo you want to do? If you want to help me with grant proposal for disadvantaged children I would welcome the help!
In my local area the charities communicate their needs and appeal for volunteers by Facebook and at the moment they are looking for people to pack, wrap and distribute Christmas parcels to families. If you have a car to help transport things it’s a bonus.
In a small way I volunteer by shifting stuff in my car to people.
Pre covid I did direct voluntary work with children, art events, reading in schools etc. This and scouting etc are all cancelled by covid, I e been doing this since my teens and you need a DBS check for this so maybe apply for one as they take ages to come through.
In our local area there are asp people volunteering through the next door website to help neighbours.

I’d really recommend social media - Facebook/ Instagram - follow the small local charities in your area whose cause moves you and I’m sure on their posts there will be appeals for volunteers. Please feel free to pm me for ideas. The world needs more people like you - who are prepared to give their time.

I believe you OP. A lot of small charities are run in a sloppy way. I'm not dissing them for that. They are untrained unpaid unqualified volunteers.

What kind of role do you want? As others say, it's very hard to organise volunteering right now because of covid restrictions, especially as it sounds like you want a face to face role, not merely organising the website.

My school PTAs would bite your hands off in normal times -- that's not working with children but it is working to help them.

I wanted to volunteer for food bank but all they could offer was shaking coin buckets in supermarket. I did it once, fully hated it.

My job is in corporate PR, where the expectation is that emails are replied to instantly, things are generally followed up on within the day etc. So, this is a really different way of communicating (or not communicating

Do you know how charities work?
Many don't have PR departments. let alone a PR person.

Often it's just one volunteer organiser, maybe part time, who gets the email or web enquiry. Then they may follow it up with a generic email (or you get an automatic response) saying that your enquiry has been received.

Charities get a LOT of volunteer enquiries. Many don't progress for lots of reasons.

Sense are recruiting volunteers for online befriending roles.

With your skills I would have thought trustee work would suit.

I am trustee of a housing charity.

We also have volunteers who do some admin support.

Trustee work tends to be evening's too

I applied to volunteer at my local psychiatric hospital, Never heard from them. A friend of mine has just started as a volunteer job at a local small charity doing telephone befriending. A relative is also making teas a coffee for a local support group (groups under 15 are allowed). Just put some feelers about in your local community, some lucky organisation will snap you up.

lljkk but a lot of volunteering is doing what the organisation needs, not necessarily what you "like" to do. Perhaps the Food Bank needed more money collecting and you were providing a useful service?

I work with volunteers and, separately, I volunteer for a couple of different organisations. I have to do a lot of things I don't particularly "like" doing, but I can see that they are essential and necessary for the organisations I volunteer for. Equally some of the people that volunteer with me are incredibly picky about what they will or won't do, and whilst most volunteers are a huge asset to the organisation some can actually cause more work and it is easier when they are not around. I have, on more than one occasion, had to have an incredibly difficult conversation with volunteers and suggest that they are perhaps not in the right organisation- that is after lengthy training, development etc etc. And if they won't leave it is actually very hard to get rid of a volunteer!

I found other types of volunteering roles when I didn't hate every minute of it. It's good there are lots of ways to volunteer. Actually, don't recall hating any minute of any of the other volunteering I've done. Although some tasks are grim I don't hate them. I'm still on the email list for the food bank volunteers, too shy to say please remove me since I have no future with them. I shook the bucket one morning about 5 years ago!

Thank you all so much for your advice.

I wasn’t implying, @SOboredofcleaning, that anyone should be replying to me instantly. It was more just to say ‘in the kind of environment I work in this is the norm. I’m not sure what the norm is in the charity sector’. Maybe it came across as antagonistic.

I should probably have phrased my question as...during Covid, is it a really bad time to be asking to volunteer.

I used to do the Twitter & Instagram pages and the blog for a different organisation, so I’ve got a bit of experience doing publicity stuff. I haven’t done much else in terms of volunteering, just PTA stuff. So I’m kind of open to doing anything really. I can see that it is a really, really difficult time for charities though, based on what some of you have said.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions and messages

I work for a charity. COVID-19 has been a nightmare, we are busier than ever and more and more people need our support. We have a duty of care to volunteers so there's lots of things we are either no longer able to ask of them or they don't wish to do (volunteers are not employees after all so within their rights to say no). As for recruitment we still have to follow a safer recruitment policy and do training, a lot of which is difficult to do via zoom. Our income is down 95% but we won't feel the effects until next year. So whilst in long term volunteer recruitment would help, in the short term we don't have the resources. Everything we are currently doing is reactive rather than proactive. Don't give up, but charities aren't generally well resourced.

I run our local branch of Nct. When I say I run, I mean where I can I check my emails and respond to things but I am so bogged down with work and lockdown, I haven’t even managed to advertise to replace myself!
Nct are always keen to have volunteers (helping local parents) I would instantly reply to an email where someone wanted to volunteer ;)

I haven’t phrased my point v well... I am
a volunteer thus checking my emails has gone by the wayside. Plus what we can do right now is v limited by the guidelines., so maybe they aren’t responding due to similar reasons!