Volunteering for a more meaningful existence

Everywhere, it seems, voluntary groups are saying that people are too busy to volunteer nowadays. The mother who once ran the Girl Guides is now out working for an IT company and the retired managing director who used to deliver meals on wheels finds himself in demand as a financial consultant.

When everybody's so busy making money, isn't it better to pay other people to do the hard slog of nurturing work that acts as a safety net for the vulnerable in society? Let the social workers do it; after all, that's what we pay our taxes for, right? And what about all those National Lottery funds? It doesn't help that the image of volunteering is one of middle-aged ladies in cashmere cardigans with nothing better to do than serve tea, make hospital visits and hold cake sales. Such work is undervalued yet vital, which is why the Volunteer Resource Centre in Dublin is trying to change this image. Can you make volunteering "fun" and "sexy"? Surprisingly, it appears, you can. And we're not just talking about the high-profile fundraising events that are excuses to buy new clothes and be seen.

In this, the UN International Year of Volunteers, the Volunteer Resource Centre has been astonished at the influx of volunteers in their 20s who - having earned the money, bought the cars, worn the designer clothes, done the clubs and taken the foreign holidays - are looking for activities that add meaning to their lives. Sandra Velthuis of the Volunteer Resource Centre wants to see volunteering become something that people build into their lifestyles. There's nothing wrong with asking "what's in it for me?", she argues. Why not see volunteering as a great way for single people to meet potential mates? she asks. Or as a way of developing one's professional skills?

Nobody volunteers unless they get something out of it. The Volunteer Resource Centre does a lot of work with voluntary groups, helping them to make volunteering as personally fulfilling as possible. Volunteering is now about offering specific skills, from website design to financial advice, so that voluntary groups do not have to raise funds just to pay administrative staff. In 1995, the in-kind revenue from volunteering was worth £470.7 million to the non-profit sector in Ireland. Volunteering has even become a career move. Marks & Spencer "upskills" workers by placing them in voluntary organisations during paid working time, to give them a chance to develop management abilities relevant to their jobs.

Businesses have discovered that by encouraging employees to volunteer, they can build a company ethos which nurtures employees' self-esteem and improves the reputation of the company in the community, says Clodagh Gorman, programme executive of Business in the Community Ireland, established last year. A pilot programme involving four companies in Dublin is leading the way in exploring how employees' skills can be targeted at local community voluntary efforts. Other businesses support voluntary efforts on an ad-hoc basis. For example, an Internet company, needahotel.com, is official sponsor of Fingallians GAA club in Swords, Co Dublin. Fingallians, one of the oldest GAA clubs in the country, was burnt out two years ago and has had to start again from scratch. As part of an ongoing commitment, needahotel.com has contributed a substantial sum of money to assist in the development of the club and, in addition, is sponsoring a weekend in Paris.

"This club was very good to me, and gave me years and years of enjoyment, and I felt it was a good cause," says Andrew Collins of needahotel.com.

In a global economy, giving something back has global consequences. Business is the most powerful institution on the planet. The world's 500 largest industrial corporations employ only 0.05 per cent of the population, but they control 25 per cent of the world's economic output. The concept of "volunteering" is now relevant to business-related issues such as management of the environment and social cohesion. "Great companies consider that community involvement is as important as marketing," says Tony Hynes, managing director of Green Isle Foods. It's not just altruism that's at work here. "Companies concerned to be seen need to be seen to be concerned," says David Robinson, director of Community Links UK.

Eighty-six per cent of Irish consumers say that when price and quality are equal, they are more likely to buy a product associated with a cause. The bottom line is that people want to buy from companies which share their values and investors are attracted to companies with a long-term share price that is enhanced by a positive public reputation. "Volunteering" in the broadest sense is the best way to enhance a company's reputation. This doesn't mean that responsible companies are being selfish, any more than the full-time mother in the home who volunteers her time to a local cause for the social buzz. Volunteering is a two-way relationship. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "everyone has duties to the community, we all have a responsibility to the people around us, and we can only develop fully as individuals by taking care of each other".

Genuine altruism is rare, but if you can balance the needs of voluntary groups against the fulfilment and benefits of individual volunteers and businesses, that's not a bad thing.

kathryn.holmquist@weblink.ie

Volunteer Resource Centre, Carmichael Centre for Voluntary Groups, Coleraine House, Coleraine Street, Dublin 7. Tel: 01-8722622; fax: 01-8735280; www.volunteeringireland.com Business in the Community, tel: 01-6760083; admin@ bitc.iol.ie

Helpful websites: bitc.org.uk; business-impact.org.

Maev-Ann Wren is on leave