Walking the Walk - Welsh Charities Week

 A few things grind my gears. 

People who walk in cycle lanes, people who don't put DVDs back in the box, and Charities that don't have a volunteering leave policy. 

One of those things is more specific than the others.

So in this piece for Welsh Charities Week I'm going to talk about people who walk in cycle lanes... No, I want to stop for a minute and look at Charities and their relationship with volunteering. 

There was a poll from Portland Communications a few days ago which showed that the British public are very supportive of Johnson's rhetoric on climate change, with only 8% wishing he'd talk about something else, with 56% supporting the government incentivizing green behaviour. 

However only 7% of the surveyed public say "my family and me, and other families like mine" should pay the cost for meeting net zero and limiting carbon emissions. 22% were unwilling to pay anything. 

That juxtaposition of wanting something but not wanting to pay for it, to me, is reminiscent of charities and volunteering. 

The charity sector loves volunteering. It thrives on volunteers, they help out to deliver work that really makes a difference to people's lives, organisations funnel hundreds of thousands of pounds into involving the public in as many different volunteering schemes as possible. 

There is proof that that a good volunteering opportunity makes someone's life more full, it makes them happier, they might learn a lot as well. 

For instance, I have developed skills in bid writing through volunteering work, which I have used in my day job to bring in grants and tenders totalling tens of thousands of pounds for my organisation. 

I have developed communications skills in speaking as a trustee to a range of different stakeholders, I use that every day in my job to make good content for our social media channels. 

The employer benefits as well - they get a happier worker, someone who has made new connections, and they bring those skills back to the workplace.  

It's free CPD, that makes you happy! (If you couldn't tell, I am a big fan of volunteering)

However.

How many charities have an up-to-date and utilised volunteering policy? 

How many organisations actively promote that policy to new staff, to staff who've been there 5 years? 

I can honestly say that without volunteering my life would not be as whole as it is, and I can also say that my career would not be where it is either. 

But in some roles I have had, I have had to use large chunks of annual leave to volunteer. (This is not me shining my halo - I was an idiot to do so and I should have had better boundaries to say no) Annual leave I actually needed to refresh and recharge and go again. When you're using your annual leave for work, it's so easy to burn out. 

We have to get better in the charity sector at walking the walk. 

Give employees a few hours a month, I guarantee you will have a happier workforce, who will likely work harder for an employer who cares about their wellbeing. (And don't ask them to work it back either, that's not volunteering leave) 

Promote your volunteering leave. If you don't have a policy on it, get in touch, I'm more than happy to help you draft one! 

Employees, ask your manager for a few hours a month! Drop your CEO a message and ask! The worst they can say is no. 

I would have never been able to have been as effective a WCVA trustee without the hours I get a month where I can be wholeheartedly and undividedly a WCVA trustee. That also benefits board diversity (which needs all the help it can get) - if you are a young person, or not in a senior role, it is so so difficult to make a daytime trustee meeting without a sympathetic manager. And there are a lot of daytime trustee meetings. 

But that's a different blog.

Bottom line - we know volunteering is great. Let's put our money where our mouth is and actually support the sector to volunteer more, to benefit their own lives and the lives of others. This Welsh Charities Week do your bit for volunteering, for more diverse boards, for staff happiness - have a talk about volunteering leave in your organisation.