The Volunteering Handbook

Information for
people considering
voluntary work

Produced by
Craven Volunteer Centre
26 Otley Street
Skipton
BD23 1EW

Reg Charity No. 1095953
Company Reg. No. 4594244

Courtesy of Volunteering England

• Volunteer Centres offer an advice and placement service to people who are interested in becoming volunteers

• Volunteer Centres offer advice, training and support to organisations who use volunteer help

• If you would like to find out more about volunteering, or if you want help with involving volunteers within your organisation, contact your local Volunteer Centre.

THE ADDRESS OF YOUR LOCAL
VOLUNTEER CENTRE IS:
Craven Volunteer Centre
26 Otley Street, Skipton, BD23 1EW

Tel: 01756 701648
Email: info@cravenvb.co.uk
www.cravenvb.org.uk
Craven Volunteer Centre holds a database of volunteering opportunities across the Craven district, together with information on volunteering in other parts of the country and abroad.

National Volunteering Website:
www.do-it.org.uk

Volunteering England: 0845 305 6979
www.volunteering.org.uk

VOLUNTEER CENTRES – HELPING PEOPLE TO VOLUNTEER

Volunteer Centres help people who want to volunteer find suitable volunteering opportunities. Volunteer Centre staff can help you to identify the type of voluntary work you would like to do. They can also put you in touch with organisations who want volunteer help. If you think that you might like to get involved in voluntary work, then contact your local Volunteer Centre!

This booklet outlines some of the things you might think about before committing yourself to becoming a volunteer. The points and issues covered here are the sorts of things that Volunteer Centre staff will cover if you go and chat to them about voluntary work.

WHY DO YOU WANT TO VOLUNTEER?

Volunteering has a lot to offer people from all types of backgrounds and walks of life. People volunteer for many different reasons. They may choose to volunteer because they want to:
• Do something they really enjoy
• Make use of special interests and talents
• Learn new skills and develop new interests
• Meet new people with similar interests and make new friends
• Find out more about a job or type of work which they are considering as a career
• Have a chance to take some responsibility and make decisions

There are many other reasons why people volunteer. One point of warning: try not to see volunteering as just “doing-good”. Whilst voluntary work may result in good being done, if this is your main objective then you may come across as patronising or make other people feel small.

If you decide that you would like to get involved in voluntary work, but are not sure exactly what you would like to do, then think WHY you want to volunteer. This can be a useful way of helping you to focus on what sort of voluntary work you want to do. Also, have a chat with staff at your local Volunteer Centre.

SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

If you are clear about why you want to volunteer then you may have some idea about the sort of voluntary work you would like to undertake. There are, however, a number of other things which may influence the type of voluntary work you do. The following questions should help you to focus on the type of work you would like to do and how much time you can give. It will be useful if you have thought about these questions before you have a chat with somebody at your local Volunteer Centre.

Commitments and Responsibilities:

1. How much time can you spare for voluntary work? Remember your other commitments (family, hobbies, employment) and don’t overcommit yourself).
2. If you are unemployed, which day do you sign on and how much time do you spend looking for work?
3. Are your circumstances likely to change in the near future?
4. What period of time can you commit to doing voluntary work? E.g. 1 day, 1 month, 6 months? Some voluntary projects require you to stay for a minimum period of time, so check before you decide on a project.
5. How much time do you wish to volunteer? E.g. 1 day a month, 1 day a week, more or less?
6. What time(s) of the day are you free? Morning? Afternoon? Evening?
7. What days of the week are you free?
8. What about child-care arrangements?
9. Do you have your own transport? If not, is it easy for you to use public transport?

Personality, skills and interests:

1. In what ways do you feel you can best contribute?
• What are your particular skills and interests?
• What do you really enjoy doing?
• Do you prefer to work with people or to do something practical?
2. If you prefer working with people, is this on a one-to-one basis or in groups?
3. Are you fully aware of what you might be “letting yourself in for”? E.g. if you want to work with small children, have you ever spent a whole day with noisy, boisterous children? How did you feel at the end of the day? If you want to work with people who have severe physical disabilities have you ever spent a day helping and supporting a person with a severe disability?
4. Would you prefer to do something you have already done, using skills you have already acquired or would you prefer the challenge of something new?
5. Do you enjoy handling crises or do you end up in a panic yourself?
6. What skills and interests do you already possess? Many everyday skills are useful when doing voluntary work. Make sure you don’t overlook these skills. E.g. writing letters, decorating, talking, listening, DIY, driving, reading, shopping, sport, leisure and outdoor activities, entertainment, gardening, etc.
7. If you want to work with people have you identified a particular group of people with whom you would like to work? Many skills can be used with many different groups, but there may be some people you would like to work with more than others e.g. children (under 5), young people, older people, families, people in hospital, homeless people, people with a physical disability, or learning disability.

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO ASK ORGANISATIONS

Make sure you visit the organisation before starting your voluntary work!

You will meet the volunteer co-ordinator, or the person in charge of the project. This meeting will usually be an informal two-way ‘interview’ or chat. The agency will be trying to find out if you will fit in. You should find out whether the project/agency is what you imagined it to be, and whether you really want to be involved with that project/agency.

Questions about the project:

1. How and why did the project begin?
• What are its aims and activities?
• Is it a local organisation or part of a national framework?
2. What is the structure of the agency/project?
• Are there paid staff?
• Where do volunteers fit in and how do the staff feel about volunteers?
3. Has the particular job/task you are interested in always been done by volunteers?
• Are the Trade Unions happy this is an appropriate task for a volunteer?

QUESTIONS ABOUT WORKING CONDITIONS

1. You need a Job Description
• Are you sure you know what is expected of you?
2. How many hours a week are involved?
3. Will you be working on your own or in a group?
4. Who will you be responsible to?
5. Are you expected to commit yourself to a certain length of time?
6. You need to know about insurance
• Is there adequate cover both for you on the premises when you do your voluntary work, and for the people you might drive to and from a community centre in your own car?
7. Will you be reimbursed for any expenses you incur when doing the voluntary work?
• Which expenses are covered: travel expenses to and from the project? Meals? Materials, equipment and other expenses you may incur as a volunteer?
• Are expenses refunded daily/weekly/monthly?
• Some organisations have very tight budgets and cannot afford expenses. You will have to decide if you can afford to work for such an organisation.
8. You need to know whether becoming a volunteer will affect your position as a claimant
• If you are looking for work/actively seeking work, check how quickly you can leave the project. You should always let your local Benefits Agency know of your intention to start voluntary work. There are no maximum hours that someone claiming JSA can volunteer for, but a volunteer must be available to attend a job interview at 48 hours’ notice.
• If you are on Income Support volunteering should not affect this, as you are not receiving any money other than re-imbursement of expenses.
• If you are in receipt of Incapacity Benefit you can now volunteer for as long as you want (the limit of 16 hours pw no longer applies)
• Volunteering will not affect whether an individual receives Disability Living Allowance.

QUESTIONS ABOUT TRAINING AND SUPPORT

1. Does the agency/project provide any sort of training, induction, on-the-job training, or courses/conferences you may attend? You don’t automatically need training when you become a volunteer—it isn’t supposed to be a skilled occupation. But if one of the reasons you want to do voluntary work is to develop new skills and gain voluntary work experience that may help to lead to employment, structured training opportunities will be important to you.

2. Where can you go when you need support and advice or in emergencies?

Do not be afraid to ask questions and don’t feel that you are a nuisance. It is better to be aware of potential difficulties before you get involved!

QUESTIONS YOU MAY BE ASKED BY THE ORGANISATION

Just as you need to ask questions of the organisation, so the project/agency will ask you questions about yourself. Organisations will have different ways of trying to find out if a volunteer is suited to their particular project, but broadly it may be done in one of the following ways:
• Visiting the project in an informal way, having a look round and a chat
• An application form and a request for references before you visit the project
You may be asked about your personal circumstances since some project/agencies may need volunteers to stay with them for a reasonable length of time.

If you are going to do some driving for a project/agency they will ask about your driving licence and whether you have any endorsements, since this could affect whether you can be put on their insurance.

Some organisations may ask you more personal questions. They may ask about your health or criminal convictions, and some may have an age limit for their volunteers. This particularly applies to statutory agencies such as hospitals, probation or social services. If you are going to work with vulnerable adults or children you can expect to be checked through the Criminal Records Bureau.

THE RIGHT TO VOLUNTEER

Volunteering England believes that everybody should have the right to volunteer. Volunteer Centres who are members of VE actively support this principle and work to ensure that everybody wanting to volunteer has access to volunteering opportunities. Clearly, not everybody is suited to every type of voluntary work, so there needs to be some sort of selection procedure. However, an organisation should only take relevant criteria into account when making a decision about a person’s suitability for a particular type of voluntary work. A criminal conviction, for example, should not prevent a person from volunteering, although it MAY mean that it would be inappropriate for the person to do a certain type of voluntary work. If you feel that you have been discriminated against then contact your local Volunteer Centre and seek advice.

THE LEGAL RIGHTS OF AN EX-OFFENDER

If an ex-offender is not asked about convictions they are entitled to withhold this information. If they are asked then they can withhold this information but it may mean that they are unable to work with children and vulnerable adults (i.e. in jobs which require disclosure of convictions).

If an ex-offender is asked about their criminal record and if they can appreciate why this information is required then they should disclose this information BUT where their convictions are spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act they are entitled to answer no to such questions unless the job/voluntary work task is one that is excepted under the Act: any job or voluntary work where there may be substantial one-to-one unsupervised access to children or young people and vulnerable adults, and this includes teachers, youth workers, social workers, play workers and care workers.

An ex-offender has the right not to have current or spent convictions disclosed through official records or a third party without their permission. The unauthorised disclosure of spent convictions is a criminal offence. An organisation’s questions should be designed to ensure that you are not wrongly placed, not to discriminate against you because you have committed an offence.

A Volunteer is …

a person who, free of charge and without duress, contributes their time and skills with the aim of benefiting others in their community

Rights of Volunteers

Volunteers should be dealt with promptly (and cheerfully)

All volunteers should be treated equaly

Volunteers have the right to know why they
were not accepted for voluntary work as far
as possible

Volunteers should be given full information
and induction when they start with an
organisation

Volunteers should be given a clear job
description

Volunteers should know who to go to with
any problems

Volunteers should have adequate insurance
cover
Volunteers should have appropriate training and support and be appreciated

Volunteers should be involved in the organisation and decision-making if they
wish

Where possible all expenses should be reimbursed

Volunteers’ work should be reviewed as necessary, and the chance to develop skills should be given

The task should be something the volunteer wants to do and is of benefit to others in the community

Any paid staff should be committed to the value of the volunteers’ work and there should be a general agreement within the agency about the nature and purpose of volunteer involvement

Volunteers should see the positive benefits of their volunteering

Volunteers should have safe working conditions

Responsibilities of Volunteers

• Volunteers should:
• give commitmentbe reliable
• work within the aims & objectives of the organisation
• be honest if there are any problems
• respect confidentiality, and those they work with
• treat all people equally
• attend relevant training

These responsibilities should not be seen as just rules and regulations. Taking volunteering seriously is a positive thing for the volunteer in the long run.

SOME DO’S AND DON’TS FOR VOLUNTEERS

Do think about why you want to do voluntary work

Don’t start any voluntary work until you know exactly what is expected of you

Do ask about the organisation and where you fit it

Don’t overcommit yourself. Reliability is vital.

Do make sure you know to whom you are responsible and who you can go to for help and advice

Don’t just leave the project because you are fed up, having problems, or feel you are being taken advantage of. Talk to the person in charge of the project first.

Do accept volunteer expenses. You can give them back as a donation to the organisation if you wish.

Don’t ever accept money as payment from someone who you have helped in the course of your voluntary work. Explain to them that they can make a donation to the organisation if they wish.

Don’t carry out any job if it is against your wishes and principles. Discuss the situation with the person in charge.

Do stick to any arrangement you have made. If you cannot, or you are going to be late, let the volunteer organiser, or the person you are visiting, know in plenty of time.

Don’t betray any confidences that you may be entrusted with by people in your voluntary work.

DO ENJOY YOURSELF!

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