Volunteering: A Choice, Not a Condition

Volunteering is one of the very best things that you can do. Not only does volunteering help people in need, strengthen our communities, and generally improve the liveability of our environment, it also helps you as a volunteer; it is one of the quickest and simplest ways to better mental, physical, and social health.

But volunteering is, and must be, time and effort freely given. You should volunteer because you want to. The clue is in the name. The moment that you are told that you must do something, you are no longer a volunteer. All of the benefits of volunteering become weighed down by the albatross of mandated activity. And so that is why it’s so discouraging to see the Government suggesting that volunteering is something that you must do, rather than something that you may choose to do.

This week I have read about how our new Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, wants migrants to “volunteer in the community” in order to be granted permanent settled status. It reminds me of the time that Government made volunteering central to the idea of claiming benefits. Making volunteering mandatory in such a way immediately turns it into something else, something that is onerous instead of joyous, something that is negative rather than positive.

Over the years I have met many refugees and asylum seekers and very consistently they want to volunteer. I cannot overstate their keenness to be involved with the community that they have joined, and one of the most commonly given reasons for that drive is that they want to give back because they have been welcomed and supported. But if those people didn’t want to get involved, that would also be just fine, because participating in society is not, and never should be, dependent on you giving your time and effort, free of charge, to community activities. And that goes for people born inside of the UK as well as those born outside it.

Volunteering is not for everyone. Of course, everyone is welcome to volunteer should they wish, and organisations and projects everywhere will always be grateful to hear from new volunteers, but there are many reasons why it might not be the best choice for someone. Forcing people to do it, for any reason, is wrong in my opinion, and making certain rights contingent upon it is concerning.

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