JVN Blog

The Office of National Statistics (ONS), have reported a drop of 15 per cent in volunteering (March 2017). The figures released by the ONS show that people in the UK volunteered 1.93 billion hours in 2015, compared to 2.28 billion hours in 2005. Over the same period, the population grew by 7.8 per cent, meaning the average number of hours volunteered by each person fell by 21.5 per cent over the ten year period – despite a significant rise in the number of under-18s volunteering.

The Jewish Volunteering Network (JVN), however, is bucking this trend. The number of volunteers registered is on the increase. Over the past 5 years, the numbers of people registering on the JVN website to find a volunteering opportunity has increased by 230 per cent.  The numbers of charities who post both regular and one-off opportunities aiming to attract volunteers has also risen significantly. In 2012, JVN had 89 charities registered on their website, compared to 632 in 2017. This represents an increase of 610%. These figures show how much charities and volunteers value the role JVN has in connecting the right people with the required skills, interest and availability to an organisation than needs them, suiting both parties.

The JVN is not alone in seeing an increase in volunteering interest. There is a general increase in volunteering within faith communities as whole. It is, however, difficult to put an actual figure on the numbers as much volunteering within faith communities is informal, be it in the form of hospital visitation, helping to prepare community celebrations/ gatherings, or shopping for those who need it.

Steve Miller in his publication “Keeping it Together: A Reflective Practice Tool for Faith-Based Community Development Practitioners” (2007) states that:

“Not all faiths are identical but most are rooted in important values that include the following – the infinite value of all human beings, a sense of service or obligation to society, a concern with overall prosperity not just financial gain, a holistic view of society and the individual.”

It may still be a debatable point whether the faith communities are a part of the voluntary and community sector or are a separate sector in their own right. But, either way, in most parts of the country, faith community organisations are probably the largest identifiable grouping of voluntary organisations. Additionally, faith communities are often the only trusted and active organisations working with the most excluded and multiple-deprived groups.

For information about volunteering with any of the 632 charities, featured on our site contact www.jvn.org.uk

If you happen to agree or disagree with me, I would love to hear from you.

Leonie Lewis –  Director JVN