Hackney is facing a shortage of volunteers as their numbers have been falling following the pandemic. A fair aims to boost volunteering across Hackney and bring the numbers back up.
“We have over 300 live roles on our site at the moment, all of which really do need filling,” said Jane Tyler, Head of Volunteering and Deputy CEO at Volunteer Centre Hackney (VCH), “and demand will increase in winter as weather starts to get worse”. On 1 November, VCH will be hosting 10 local charities at their volunteer fair, exploring a wide variety of causes.
“It’s a great way to get a flavour and taste of what volunteering could be for you”, said Jane, “people can be intimidated and can think (volunteering) is this huge commitment. However much time you have and whatever you want to get out of it, there will be a role for you”.
VCH is a Dalston-based charity whose services provide a type of “brokerage service” between aspiring volunteers and local charities. On top of running various projects themselves, it is actively encouraging people to both discover and rediscover their love of volunteering with a range of niche, flexible and diverse volunteering opportunities.
The pandemic saw many people get creative with their free time. Some revisited old hobbies, some coped by baking six batches of banana bread a day, and some sought purpose through one of the few meaningful ways we could: volunteering. However, in a post pandemic world and amid a devastating cost of living crisis, volunteer rates have rapidly declined. For some key volunteering activities, the number of monthly volunteers has almost halved, according to NCVO’s 2023 Time Well Spent survey. Most people cited “less time due to changes in circumstances” as the main reason for their drop in volunteering.
A recent survey carried out by VCH found that 75% of people agree that “volunteering helped them improve their mental health or have a more positive outlook”.
Ryk, one of VCH’s long time volunteers, described volunteering as “a real life-saver” for him.
“I really started volunteer work because of my mental health” he says, explaining that his roles were often a reason to get up in the morning. Ryk spoke about how the sense of community has kept him actively involved, joking “I’ve now realised because I volunteer for four organisations, I’ve got four Christmas parties to go to!”. He even accredits volunteer work for helping to get every job he has had.
The VCH volunteering fair will take place Wednesday 1 November, 3-6pm at 34-38 Dalston Lane, London E8 3AZ. More information can be found at its website here.
