International Volunteer Day 2024

Thursday 5th December 2024 is UN International Volunteer Day and the perfect opportunity to highlight and thank the many Community Transport volunteers at the very heart of our sector. 

Happy International Volunteer Day 2024 and a huge thank you to all the volunteers who are committed to making our sector the most driven, ambitious and inclusive. From drivers to office administrators, fleet managers to tea makers and everyone in between, your dedication and passion makes the world of difference to passengers the length and breadth of the UK. 

Here, CTA staff share their experiences and insights on volunteering and if you scroll down, you'll find a whole host of fascinating facts and resources on volunteering. 

Director for Northern Ireland, Frances Campbell shares an overview of volunteering across the diverse landscape of Northern Ireland and the strategies needed to ensure there is a healthy balance between volunteering and sustainable opportunities. 

Volunteers are the heart of community transport, selflessly giving their time and energy to support essential services reach those who need them most. Across Northern Ireland, these dedicated individuals bring purpose and heart to every role they undertake. For many, volunteering goes beyond a simple task—it is a deeply rewarding way to give back, make a meaningful impact, and strengthen their local communities.

However, the community transport sector here faces significant volunteer recruitment challenges. Volunteer numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels, the majority of volunteers support driving roles. Yet recent research within Northern Ireland highlights that only 8% of Primary Purpose Operators report having enough volunteers to meet their operational needs, highlighting an urgent gap.

The landscape of volunteerism is changing. Increasing pressures, rising financial demands, and the growing complexity of community transport operations call for a shift in approach. 

While volunteer contributions remain invaluable, over-reliance on their efforts amid these challenges threatens the long-term sustainability of services. The future of community transport depends on achieving a balance—honouring the passion and dedication of volunteers while developing a stable, professional workforce. 

By addressing resource shortages and embracing the evolving nature of volunteerism, the sector can create a sustainable model that ensures these essential services continue to thrive.

Across Northern Ireland, volunteers play a pivotal role in community transport, making a meaningful difference in countless lives. 

Research and Insight Manager, Nick Mills is responsible for collating and analysing data for the Community Transport sector. Here, Nick shares volunteering insights from the CTA Mapping England Survey 2024. You can access the full report here. 

• During 2022/23, there were an average of 22 volunteers per England organisation.
   
• CTA estimate there were nearly 16,000 volunteers during 2022/23 amongst CTA members.
   
• There were two volunteers for every one paid position. 
   
• Three-quarters (76%) of all volunteers were part time drivers. This shows the importance of licensing and training to enable volunteering in the Community Transport sector 
   
• Organisations with lower incomes are more dependent on volunteers than larger organisations. 96% of roles were filled by volunteers in organisations with an annual income of less than £100k, whilst only 29% were volunteers in organisations with an annual income of over £1million.
   
• Two-thirds (67%) of Community Transport Operators did not think they had enough volunteers to meet demand for their services.
   
• 45% of all volunteer drivers hold the D1 ‘grandfather’ 101 entitlement, granted automatically on new driving licences before 1st January 1997. That equates to two thirds of all volunteer drivers with a D1 licence, which enables them to drive larger minibuses.
• The number of D1 (101) licenses in existence is scheduled to reduce by a fifth in the next five years, meaning this pool of qualified drivers is shrinking.

Development Officer for Wales, Michelle Kelsall shares her story of volunteer management and the importance of every day starting with 'a chat and a laugh'.

In my role previous to CTA, I managed community transport at Qube in Oswestry for over 13 years. I remember applying for the role and on the job specification it asked for 'experience in working with volunteers'. Apart from my own experience of being a volunteer at my children’s school I didn’t have any!

I had managed paid drivers in road haulage before for many years but not volunteer drivers. I applied and got the job and so began my journey in Community Transport. To assist me in the transition to working with volunteers I did a year long course online in volunteer management which gave me the confidence and support to work with volunteers more effectively. 

There was a team of up to 30 volunteers at Qube in the transport department and they provided a Dial-a-Ride service and a Community Car service to the town and surrounding villages. I have to say that when I was first in post, I had no idea how volunteers could provide a regular vital service if they weren’t paid staff. We were providing a Monday to Friday service and I soon learnt that a golden thread ran through all of the volunteers I worked with - wanting to give back to the community and a real commitment and love of what they do – so of course it was going to work! 

The volunteers came from all walks of life – retired police officers, people who’d worked for large corporate organisations, some who couldn’t work because of caring responsibilities, some who were trying to get back to work after illness or long unemployment and trying to gain skills to help them progress. Some were working and volunteering in their time off as well. 

All the volunteers said their role gave them a focus to their week – a reason to get up and out for a day. If some could have volunteered for 5 days a week they would have. In a world which is an increasingly hard environment for all of us, even more so for those who are isolated for whatever reason, the care and compassion shown to them by the volunteers was so appreciated. It made a real difference.  

During CT Week this year I went back to Qube and spent the morning with one of their car drivers Paul who provided a weekly journey for a gentleman. Paul said that being relatively new to his community, after a move from Scotland, he felt it was ’time to give something back’. He’d initially enquired about driving the minibuses at Qube but it was the car service that suited him better.

Volunteering has ‘given him a purpose to his week’ and he has met wonderful people, from all walks of life with their own amazing life stories and seen parts of his community that he never knew were there. I also saw the bond between Paul and his passenger – they see each other weekly and the benefits of that regular human contact for them both can’t be underestimated.

 Undoubtedly, my highlight of operational CT was working with the volunteers and also the passengers. Whilst I gave a lot of myself to them, I also received a lot as well. Each day always started with a chat (and a laugh!)  before they went off on their trips, we caught up with them through the day and always said thank you at the end of the day. It never ceased to amaze me in all those years that we provided that transport service to Oswestry with a team of volunteers – they showed up day in, day out without question. The town and wider community are incredibly lucky to have it and one day when I’m able, I will probably be a volunteer driver! 

Director for Scotland, David Kelly shared a recent update from Volunteering Scotland highlighting the urgent need for investment into local volunteering. The Scottish Household Survey 2023 found a further 4% point decline in volunteering with less than 850,000 people across the country involved in formal volunteering. 

The report details the impact of the cost of living crisis and how the #VolunteeringForAll national campaign has set a 10 year strategy to recruit and retain volunteers. You can read the full Scottish Household Survey here and if you're a CT operation based in Scotland, there are lots of resources and opportunities to help you recruit new volunteers here. 

CTA is committed to highlighting volunteers, opportunities to volunteer and creating resources to help CT operators to engage and develop good quality volunteering programmes. You can find resources to support this commitment in the following sections:

 - Share your volunteering stories, wins and celebrations with us by emailing media@ctauk.org

 - Share your volunteering opportunities with us by emailing comms@ctauk.org and we will list them on our opportunities page. 

 - Learn how collaboration can help with sustainable volunteering here. 

 - Develop your own Volunteering Policy with this helpful template.