A place where all young people can share their ideas, knowledge and experience of volunteering. This blog has been set up to encourage more young people to get involved in volunteering projects that match their interests and enhance their career prospects.

Saturday, 17 April 2010

Volunteering: The Obstacles

I just spent some time looking at the kinds of volunteering opportunities available at the moment and I've come away feeling rather bemused. A lot of volunteering schemes (including those attempting to attract young adults) involve the vetting of criminal records, the completion of endless forms and not forgetting, the often lengthy and tedious process of training. This is an outrage; no wonder fewer people are opting volunteer when there are these kinds of obstacles in the way stopping them from doing so. Their 'let's make it as difficult as possible for people to volunteer' approach is madness in my mind and something needs to be done. What do you think is the solution? I understand that some checks/ some kind of assessment needs to be done to get the right people in for the role but this is too far, right? Are all of these forms really necessary?
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2 comments:

  1. Sara M.1 May 2010 at 14:10

    I found that same problem, I really want to volunteer for something I care about but 1. I can't be bothered with the hassle of going to interviews etc. and 2. When I call some organisations they don't even bother to respond. This baffles me because you would think they would be crying out for help. I'm on the edge of giving up.

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  2. Cat Birch2 May 2010 at 14:14

    That is weird Sara - keep trying though I'm sure you will find something that will appreciate the help you are offering. Try to contact organisations directly to avoid filling out those lengthy forms, it worked for me!

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