Volunteering! Volunteering! Volunteering!
In the spirit of all that is fresh, new and exciting; The Independent (26/4/07, Education section, Pg. 8) described volunteering as suddenly being 'cool,' as if the act of helping others and the environment is something new, like a certain Labour Government speech my title is parodying. The successor for leadership (Gordon Brown) for that same Labour Government has gone about dealing with the Voluntary Sector in much the same way he has any managed any Public Service. By setting targets (for a million more 'young volunteers' through the V20 initiative, launched May 2006), throwing money at it, and establishing Government machinery to manage it, known as the Office of the Third Sector.
Office of the Third Sector. Sounds somewhat like the 'Third Force' advocated by Thomas Hardy. Is the Government being naive with the Third Sector, in the same way Pyle (Graeme Green: The Quiet American, 1956) was when he 'played with plastics' in order to fight for his 'Third Force'? Potentially, yes. They might be being somewhat naive. The results, however, will not be as explosive as Pyles' 'plastics' proved in a Korean market place. There are several main area's the voluntary (or Third) sector gets its manpower; students, retired people, people who don't work, criminals doing community service, and either professionals and business people with the time, or are doing a sabbatical year.
There is an emphasis on students because whilst we have the time and the enthusiasm, we sometimes have to use that time to earn money to pay for our lives at University. Hence the Government is starting to offer financial incentives, especially to those who use their Gap Years to volunteer. I didn't do a Gap Year because I unexpectedly got into UCL. Had I done so, I don't think my plans would have been significantly altered knowing my fees could have been lowered had I done voluntary work (a proposal in the December 2006 Pre-Budget Report).
It may be idealistic to think that voluntary work should have no monetary reward. However, that is the essence of work people volunteer to do. It should not require financial incentives. The work, and its results, benefit both yourself and the people (or environment) you set out to assist. I can testify how truly satisfying it can be to chop down a tree, cut through some undergrowth, or see a finished boardwalk after a long day of labouring for an Environmental Charity.
Being that we are students, I advocate that organisations such as the Voluntary Services Unit (VSU) at UCL continue to cover travel expenses, and the Government encourages people (through projects such as the 'Millennium Volunteers' scheme) to participate in voluntary activities.
The more people volunteer in our society (and Universities), and the better the supportive infrastructure is, the more beneficial impact charitable work can have in the environment and our communities. Lets not debate whether voluntary work is 'cool,' or have it turned into a political football; let's just go out there and get our hands dirty.
Dominic Tarn.
In the spirit of all that is fresh, new and exciting; The Independent (26/4/07, Education section, Pg. 8) described volunteering as suddenly being 'cool,' as if the act of helping others and the environment is something new, like a certain Labour Government speech my title is parodying. The successor for leadership (Gordon Brown) for that same Labour Government has gone about dealing with the Voluntary Sector in much the same way he has any managed any Public Service. By setting targets (for a million more 'young volunteers' through the V20 initiative, launched May 2006), throwing money at it, and establishing Government machinery to manage it, known as the Office of the Third Sector.
Office of the Third Sector. Sounds somewhat like the 'Third Force' advocated by Thomas Hardy. Is the Government being naive with the Third Sector, in the same way Pyle (Graeme Green: The Quiet American, 1956) was when he 'played with plastics' in order to fight for his 'Third Force'? Potentially, yes. They might be being somewhat naive. The results, however, will not be as explosive as Pyles' 'plastics' proved in a Korean market place. There are several main area's the voluntary (or Third) sector gets its manpower; students, retired people, people who don't work, criminals doing community service, and either professionals and business people with the time, or are doing a sabbatical year.
There is an emphasis on students because whilst we have the time and the enthusiasm, we sometimes have to use that time to earn money to pay for our lives at University. Hence the Government is starting to offer financial incentives, especially to those who use their Gap Years to volunteer. I didn't do a Gap Year because I unexpectedly got into UCL. Had I done so, I don't think my plans would have been significantly altered knowing my fees could have been lowered had I done voluntary work (a proposal in the December 2006 Pre-Budget Report).
It may be idealistic to think that voluntary work should have no monetary reward. However, that is the essence of work people volunteer to do. It should not require financial incentives. The work, and its results, benefit both yourself and the people (or environment) you set out to assist. I can testify how truly satisfying it can be to chop down a tree, cut through some undergrowth, or see a finished boardwalk after a long day of labouring for an Environmental Charity.
Being that we are students, I advocate that organisations such as the Voluntary Services Unit (VSU) at UCL continue to cover travel expenses, and the Government encourages people (through projects such as the 'Millennium Volunteers' scheme) to participate in voluntary activities.
The more people volunteer in our society (and Universities), and the better the supportive infrastructure is, the more beneficial impact charitable work can have in the environment and our communities. Lets not debate whether voluntary work is 'cool,' or have it turned into a political football; let's just go out there and get our hands dirty.
Dominic Tarn.
