Volunteers keep calm and carry on joining during recession
Record number of Citizens Advice volunteers contributed £100 million hours of work last year
Citizens Advice is today praising the generosity of its 22,000 volunteers who have rallied in communities during this recession.
As Volunteers’ Week kicks off across the country, new figures from Citizens Advice show the number of people volunteering for the service has risen steadily since the financial crash in 2007.
The number of people signing up to volunteer outstrips the rate of unemployment, rising ten times faster than those losing their jobs. Since 2007, unemployment has risen by 2.5 per cent while the number of people volunteering for Citizens Advice has gone up by nearly 20 per cent.
The new data also highlights that volunteering in a Citizens Advice bureau offered positive benefits to people looking for jobs, with 1 in 3 leaving to go into paid work or education, a figure which doubles (68%) for those aged 25 and younger.
Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citiens Advice said:
“The rise in volunteering shows that despite the massive strain on state resources and household budgets, people have given more and more of their time and effort to help friends and neighbours to cope.
“Our team of volunteers is diverse and I am especially pleased that we are seeing more and more young people give us their time. Volunteering at a bureau is a great way to prepare for work or get some vital experience, with almost two thirds of our volunteers aged under-25 leaving to go straight into paid employment or education.
“Our latest research shows that volunteering in our organisation was worth £100 million to local communities. I want to say thanks 100 million to our exceptional volunteers for this extraordinary achievement.”
The number of young people becoming volunteers increased dramatically last year, with 24% of the new intake aged under 25 years old. Under 25’s currently make up 9% of all volunteers.
Notes to editors
- Volunteers’ Week takes place between June 1 and June 7 2013.
- The Citizens Advice service comprises a network of local bureaux, all of which are independent charities, and national charity Citizens Advice. Together we help people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. For more information in England and Wales see www.citizensadvice.org.uk
- The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality. For online advice and information see www.adviceguide.org.uk
- Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales advised 2.1 million clients on 6.9 million problems from April 2011 to March 2012. For full 2011/2012 service statistics see our quarterly publication Advice trends
- Out of 22 national charities, the Citizens Advice service is ranked by the general public as being the most helpful, approachable, professional, informative, effective / cost effective, reputable and accountable (nfpSynergy’s Brand Attributes survey, May 2010).