#VolunteersWeek is an opportunity for us to reflect on who is and isn’t volunteering, and why that might be. The reasons people are, or aren’t, volunteering are multiple, complex and nuanced.  Over at Voscur, and in volunteer-involving organisations across Bristol, we are aware the demographic make-up of teams of volunteers is ever evolving.  

Volunteering doesn’t exist within a vacuum. Factors such as the Covid pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, the worst inflation in decades and changes to the state pension age impact who is able to offer their time. These factors are compounded by the ongoing effects of systemic inequality in the UK and the make-up of people behind organisations - who is and is not being represented already. In addition, barriers such as the time pressures of juggling multiple jobs or caring duties, having English as second language or not feeling comfortable in a particular environment can all add up to someone being – or feeling – unable to volunteer. 

Rebecca Mear, CEO of Voscur, said: “As a society, we need to understand the very real barriers Black, Brown and minoritised people face to volunteering: we need to enable the skills, expertise, knowledge and commitment they have to make a profound difference for the community. By removing barriers, systematically, we will fully realise the power of what people from minoritised groups offer to our community life.” 

The Covid Pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement shone a light on inequality and inequity in Bristol and beyond, and more people became aware of the multiple disadvantages faced by Black, Brown and Minoritised people. However, there is still work to be done.  

We spoke to Huda and Asha - Directors of Caafi Health CIC - about their organisation, how they involve volunteers and the barriers faced by Black and Brown people looking to volunteer. Caafi Health is a grassroots organisation that works to improve the health and wellbeing of the diverse populations in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. They aim to build community capacity and address health inequalities by providing relevant and relatable health information, advice, support and education. 

 Volunteers have been an integral part of the Community Interest Company since its formation in 2021 and have fulfilled a range of roles within the organisation, including supporting at Community Health Clinics which the organisation run across multiple locations. Throughout the pandemic, Caafi Health supported community members to make informed choices regarding their access to and uptake of the Covid-19 vaccines. 

“Over 250 refugee women members and their families accessed COVID-19 vaccinations thanks to Huda, who continuously answered their questions and supported our staff and volunteers” - Layla Ismail, Refugee Women of Bristol, speaking about Caafi Health. 

 Caafi Health is justifiably proud of the fact that many of their volunteers have gone on to paid roles, whether within the organisation, or outside of it – something many of their volunteers were keen to do. In this way, the organisation plays a role not just in providing crucial services to communities but also in addressing the workforce shortages in health and social care by building skills for work through volunteering opportunities.   

"We started as a small, grassroots, organisation, with no funding, relying heavily on people giving up their time to support our vision. Caafi Health wouldn’t exist today if we hadn’t had people volunteering alongside us.  Whether supporting with our community health clinics, or helping out at our health promotion events, we are so grateful for all of the efforts of our volunteers, past and present.  

We welcome volunteers of all backgrounds, whether they be ‘of’ the community we are supporting, or not. For those that aren’t from the community but have the skills we need – such as our retired healthcare professionals - we appreciate their willingness to keep helping. We also know that volunteering with us opens people’s eyes to some of the challenges people in our community face and spreads the word beyond it." - Huda Hajinur, Director, Caafi Health CIC 

The barriers to volunteering are very real: there are multiple ones, and they can intersect. Some are faced by anyone, regardless of their ethnicity, but for many Black and Brown people the likelihood of these barriers being there is increased, statistically. In Great Britain we have an ethnicity pay gap - in the latest survey on this issue, Bangladeshi and Pakistani people had the lowest median pay. People earning less may need to work more to provide for themselves and their families, resulting in less ‘free time’ to volunteer.  

In the 2021 census people who identified as Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Carribean or African-Carribean had the highest proportion of lone parents, again lone parents are likely to have less ‘free time’ than people co-habiting with their co-parents.  

Despite being illegal, in the UK today, modern slavery is on the rise and those who have been the victims of modern-day slavery will undoubtably have a complex relationship with volunteering, which could be seen as a form of working “for free”. Good quality data about the ethnicity of victims of modern-day slavery doesn’t exist, however, exploitation is normally more prevalent among the most vulnerable or within minority or socially excluded groups.  

In spite of all this, Black people continue to volunteer at levels comparable to or higher than other ethnic groups. A higher proportion of Black people report that they formally volunteer once per month than any other ethnic group. 

Sado Jirde, Director of Black South West Network (BSWN) says: “BSWN recognises the immense value of collaboration between organisations, government bodies, and community members in achieving collective goals. Volunteer Week serves as a platform to forge partnerships, build bridges, and create opportunities for diverse communities to come together, united by a common purpose."   

Whilst we celebrate those people who volunteer this #VolunteersWeek, rightly so, we must not forget the people who want to, but can’t.  

What would it take for the skills, energy, knowledge and expertise of people from minoritised groups to be enabled – and what incredible changes could this drive forward for our community?  With more support, Black, Brown and minoritised people who face barriers to volunteering could be fully enabled to excel within a volunteering capacity.  

If you are an organisation that wants to better your support Black, Brown and Minoritised volunteers, and especially if you are an equalities- led organisation, (or meet other criteria as on our website) both Black South West Network and Voscur have a funded support offer that you can engage with – to discuss the Voscur support offer get in touch here: https://www.voscur.org/how-to-get-support.