'Volunteer Opportunities' in the window of a charity shop.

[Kendodd]

This seems to have replaced the 'can you spare a few hours to volunteer in our shop' signs.

When did we stop doing them a favour by working there and they start doing us a favour by letting us?

I used to be a special constable....hobby bobby back then

Think you need to do it before police entry now as a requirement.

Times change. One of best things I ever did tho

yanbu OP. Agree with richteas, it's a sign of the times/economic downturn. I've even seen a charity shop specifiy that experienced was required for a volunteer opportunity

I know people who volunteer out of selfless commitment to a cause, some who volunteer for mixed reasons (like they care about the cause and are also a bit lonely or bored) and also someone who is trying to get volunteering experience to prepare for a potential return to work (DLA stopped unsurprisingly and hasn't held down a job for more than a month or two in the last 20 years). It's only the one who wants to volunteer to improve their job situation who has had difficulty finding and being accepted for voluntary work. I can totally see why - there is a long way to go before engaging in full time work is a reasonable proposition given the difficulties in being consistent, reliable, working with other people, being financially sensible and learning new skills. It's sad for their sake, but understandable and reasonable for the charities concerned to be cautious.

In the end I don't think it matters who else is benefiting, as long as the charity does. But neither should they be expected to take on people who will cause them way more trouble than they're worth.

YABU. Volunteering can be a very worthwhile activity, and should be billed as such.

People who might never have considered volunteering because they thought it was just doing the biddies in the charity shop 'a favour' might look at those posters and think of volunteering as something they could get their teeth into, and something that could provide them with some excellent work experience.

Some people, me included, take their voluntary roles very seriously, and I hate to think that people would see what I do voluntarily as a trifling hobby.

Volunteering can be useful. It's better than a huge gap on your CV, if push comes to shove.

I can see that if you are already well established and don't need any CV help, you might feel it doesn't describe you - but you weren't doing the volunteering to make yourself look like a saint anyway, so why does it matter if a few people mistake you for a person working hard to get a better job?

As someone who has managed over 120 volunteers in my time, I believe they have the terminology spot on. The 'I am doing you a favour' crowd are the worst sort to have. They are uncooperative, resistant to change, less reliable etc. It is also a lot easier to recruit from the position whereby working hours and other conditions are clearly set out, training, skills needed etc, and attract the right people, rather than 'we need help' which can attract a different sort of person. It is important to be able to turn people away graciously and with clear reasons rather than looking and feeling like you would take anyone. And those who are saying that the changing job market has made volunteering more necessary for many people, and harder to get into, are spot on. In my field it has always been necessary to do volunteer work first and volunteer roles have always used this terminology.

Oh and another thing. No one volunteers purely out of the goodness of their heart. Everyone gets something out of it, be it friendship, new skills, something to put on the cv, a feeling of doing good (in the case of the National Trust, a feeling of owning the place and being superior to every other being.....I'm joking of course). And that is how it should be.

exactly "do you have a few hours to spare" sounds so vague like you can come and go and do as you please, when IMO you commit for the sessions required just like shifts at paid work

the stuff I do IS very flexible, you don't have to commit to same day every week etc and can come and go to an extent, but if you sign up to a day it is important to turn up and you're no use if you come late or early (because of the nature of it)
so "do you have a spare hour or two" really would give the wrong impression IMO

I think this is fine - it is a sign that they manage their volunteers professionally, not just take on any body with a few hours to spare.

Managing volunteers takes time and money. If they do it haphazardly it wastes the charity's resources and can end up making staff and volunteers themselves unhappy.