“Do you have a passion for something or want to give back in general? Go research and find somewhere that you can help and add that value.” - Pam Molyneux

Why is volunteering so important?

There is the obvious that it helps others and has also shown to improve the wellbeing of the volunteers too as we tend to feel good after helping someone out. Volunteering can help us gain new skills and experiences and boost confidence.

NCVO have provided some interesting statistics

• 16.3m people volunteered through a group, club or organisation in 2020 - 2021

• Most people have formally volunteered at some point in their lives, dipping in and out of involvement over time

• Volunteering patterns changed substantially during the pandemic

• Almost one in five (17%) people reported volunteering at least once a month, about 9.2m people

• Less visible is informal volunteering, which includes a wider range of activities including unpaid help for someone who is not a relative. In 2020/21, 54% of the population (29.4m) volunteered informally at least once a year and 33% (17.9m) did so at least once a month

Check out their website to see what is happening this week Volunteers' Week - you can get involved in sharing your volunteering stories and why you do what you do.

Pam Molyneux is an Enterprise Adviser through the CIPD, which allows her the chance to visit an education setting to help support students in preparing for their next venture after leaving school. Regular recruitment fairs are held and in school workshops in which businesses can showcase what they do, what the business does and there is that possibility that visit could ignite that same passion and spark in a younger adult. How exciting is that?

So do you have a passion for something or want to give back in general? Go research and find somewhere that you can help and add that value.

If you are looking to introduce volunteering into the business and need help with writing the policy around this for staff to understand things more, check out our resources section for a Volunteering Policy