Be Inspired. Be Involved! It only takes a few minutes, no really just five minutes.
I don't have any time. I'm so busy!
We're all really busy, for some it's almost a badge of
honour, "oh, I'm far too busy" or "I don’t have any time"
and this means that some of the voluntary needs of charities are not being
met. However, this phenomenon has been
recognised for a few years and has led to microvolunteering - a series of easy
tasks that can be done anytime, anywhere, on your own terms, it can involve
anything from signing a petition or retweeting a message a few seconds each to
helping out with citizen science by reporting sightings (5-10 minutes) or
taking an hour to count birds in your garden in activities such as the RSPB's
Big Garden Birdwatch. None of these
represent a long term commitment beyond completing the task in hand but all add
to the wealth of volunteering carried on everyday across the country, in all
sectors not just the countryside and wildlife ones.
Today is a day to raise awareness of this concept designed
for time-poor people. Microvolunteering
platforms, volunteer involved organisations and individuals join together in a synchronised effort to
demonstrate the empowering potential of the microvolunteering. Moreabout Microcolunteering day here.
The value of giving a little time - Understanding the
potential of micro-volunteering
In 2012 Nesta funded Institute for Volunteering Research and
National Council for Voluntary Organisations to carry out research exploring
the opportunities and challenges that micro-volunteering presents for
individuals and organisations. This was a qualitative research project in which
a variety of methods were used to gain a fuller understanding of micro-volunteering
from a range of perspectives. The fieldwork was conducted between August 2012
and June 2013 and the report was published in November 2013. Our CJS Focus on
volunteering published in February 2014 carried some excerpts taken from the
full report, see these here.
To help you start your own microvolunteering programme and
tap into this source of voluntary help download the NCVO's guide: Giving a
little time A practical guide to exploring and developing the potential of
micro-volunteering for your organisation. Here (PDF).