By Morven MacLean, Head of Volunteering at Children's Hospices Across Scotland

VOLUNTEERS outnumber staff three to one at CHAS. With more than 890 active volunteers involved in every area, volunteering development is critical to its sustainability. Our ambition is to reach every family in Scotland that needs our support. At present we’re only reaching one in three of those families. To reach them all, it’s essential that we expand our volunteering programme to engage more people in our mission. To do that, we must understand the trends that affect how people choose to give their time.

In recent years we’ve noticed a shift in the type of volunteering people are looking for. Regular weekly volunteering shifts are being overshadowed by requests for flexible opportunities to fit around people’s busy lives.

At CHAS we’ve responded to an emerging trend by introducing family volunteering. Over the last year we have seen a sharp increase in the number of requests for it, often from a parent looking to volunteer with their child. The motivation is usually driven by wanting to spend time together whilst teaching their child about social responsibility.

We’re passionate about supporting our families at CHAS to spend precious time together. So why should our volunteering programme be any different? 

We attract fewer volunteers between the ages of 30-50 than any other age category. We, like lots of organisations, have struggled to provide the flexible volunteering opportunities working parents require. Volunteering and working shouldn’t be mutually exclusive. By enabling parents to volunteer with their children we are not only increasing participant numbers – critical as volunteering rates have remained relatively stable over the past few years and we know that six per cent of people provide 66% of volunteering hours in Scotland – but we’re also introducing a new generation of people to our cause and providing opportunities for families to spend quality time together.

Supporting children and young people to volunteer will, without doubt, inspire them to carry it through to adulthood and generate the positive benefits we know volunteering brings to individuals and communities. A nurturing mentality has to become a part of our DNA if we are to drive up volunteer numbers, improve health and wellbeing and build resilient communities.

Douglas Cameron, 49, of Clackmannan volunteers at CHAS’s Rachel House hospice with his teenage daughter. “Lucy had ambitions to be a paediatrician, so as something to do together and, knowing CHAS would either make or break those ambitions, we signed up together to volunteer two years ago. It’s the most fun and relaxing thing I do in a week and is a joy.”

But it’s not just for parents with young children: I volunteer with my dad and it’s a lovely way for us to spend time together whilst making an impact on a cause we care about.

As an organisation which relies on volunteers, it’s critical that our volunteering opportunities are flexible and fit with modern life. Our competition is not from other charities but from increasingly busy work loads and all the other exciting things people can do in their spare time such as watch Netflix and use social media. If we are to compete we must be creative and develop new and meaningful ways for people to become involved.

Family volunteering is just one of our ideas and we’re excited about its impact to inspire even more people to volunteer.