Volunteers were the heroes of the London tube strike: London Zoo could do better
I was very impressed by the work of volunteers during the tube strike in London yesterday. I set off on my morning commute expecting chaos. But at both Victoria and Earl’s Court stations, there were...
View ArticleTrick or treat in the big society
Like many people, I imagine, I spent lot of yesterday evening answering the door to children in a variety of hideous costumes squealing ‘”trick or treat?” Unlike in previous years, I had anticipated...
View ArticleShould we be putting financial value on volunteering?
On Monday, the front page of the Guardian carried a story about a scheme being proposed in Windsor & Maidenhead where new volunteers get Nectar Points in exchange for carrying out good works: hold...
View ArticleIs volunteering too much hard work for charities?
Two weeks ago, at a round table hosted by the European Association of Philanthropy and Giving, I listened to a group of people working in the charity sector talking about the difficulties they faced...
View ArticleCorporates: charities want decorating with cash instead of paint
There was a very loud groan from a room full of fundraisers at a recent conference when they were asked whether any corporates had offered to paint some walls for them recently. They rolled their eyes...
View Article‘Compulsory volunteering’ should be embraced by the voluntary sector
Many volunteering charities will, no doubt, recoil in horror at the prospect of compulsory community-based voluntary work for unemployed people. The idea is part of the work and pensions secretary Iain...
View ArticleDitching a bad piece of law
In last week’s New Statesman, the magazine’s political editor, Mehdi Hasan, coined the ideal phrase for one of the least pleasant tendencies of the last government. He wrote that the former...
View ArticleMP Chris Chope’s bill for volunteers shows how difficult reforms of CRB...
Conservative MP Chris Chope has tabled a private member’s bill that he thinks will solve the problem of potential volunteers being deterred by the prospect of waiting for a criminal records check. The...
View ArticleDitching extra insurance premiums for volunteer drivers was long overdue
There was a certain amount of backslapping this week when the Association of British Insurers announced that 54 insurance brands would no longer be charging extra premiums for people who use their cars...
View ArticleWhere are all the interesting volunteering roles?
As the New Year rolled in, I did my usual routine of trying to come up with some resolutions, only this year I was determined to think of some I might actually keep. I discarded the usual ‘eat less...
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