JAN BLACKBURN volunteer development manager with NCH, on how an employer-supported volunteering initiative helps vulnerable young people and their families to gain financial independence

NCH helps about 178,000 children, young people and their families at risk of financial exclusion every year. Volunteers have always been core to the support we provide. In 2002 we began working with corporate partners to identify areas where staff could volunteer, not only with practical activities, but by sharing their professional skills.

We started working with Barclays last year as part of its Banking on Brighter Futures campaign, which set out to help vulnerable people to learn financial management skills that we may take for granted. It was a good strategic fit. We looked at the professional skills that the bank’s staff could share – financial, presentation and IT – and developed a range of opportunities. Some volunteers become mentors or shopping buddies, helping young people with weekly budgets. Others help to deliver our Financial Futures workshops, which support service users in financial literacy and management.

We work with Barclays on 18 regional projects across the UK, matching staff from local branches to opportunities in their area. It’s got to be win-win. People enjoy volunteering only if it’s time freely given. Even if they get paid time off, volunteers have to be interested in what they are doing and support NCH’s objectives of helping people at risk of financial exclusion. They need to feel confident about sharing their skills. On average, we ask volunteers to help out once or twice a month for a couple of hours. So far it’s worked very well – in the past year we have had more than 600 staff volunteer for a wide range of activities.

Employer-supported volunteering has to be about meeting joint objectives. A charity must be clear about what it can deliver. Measuring impact is important: we ask for feedback from volunteers, project managers and service users. Staff find that volunteering helps them to deal with a wide range of people they might encounter in their work. For service users it can demystify the whole process of banking and empower them to take control of their finances. If the local bank manager comes in to do a workshop, you won’t feel so nervous about walking into your local bank.

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