A recent report by consultancy firm nfpSynergy showed that 44% of 11-16 year olds had been inspired to volunteer through the positive work of the Olympics Games Makers last year. However, there is also evidence to show that this inspiration has not since come to fruition. After the Games, there appears to have been a slight decrease in volunteering across the country, which is perhaps unsurprising after the huge surge of good will over the summer. Once the new academic year started again, it was always going to be difficult to maintain such impressive figures.
Even so, amongst the 2031 adults surveyed by nfpSynergy, a meagre 17% had expressed an interest in volunteering thanks to the Olympics, and only 1 in 50 people were inspired to get out there and volunteer in their community because of it. A disappointing 70% of people had gone so far as to say that the Games had not sparked any interest in volunteering at all. Joe Saxton, who ran the survey, was similarly disillusioned by the underwhelming consequences of the Olympics: “The time to act was right away to build on the momentum of the games and it looks like the government and the Olympic legacy organisations have either tried and failed, or missed the opportunity completely.”
The Government begs to differ, and claims that the results of the nfpSynergy report conflict with those of its own Community Life Survey. The government also plans to contribute £36m to the Centre for Social Action and the National Citizen Service program, which they hope will inspire those who watched the Games and admired the work of its volunteers. The NCS is a new scheme for 16-17 year olds which is officially recognised by the Government. But with nfpSynergy’s survey revealing that volunteering has remained at a steady 22% since 2003 despite the Games, does this mean that they’re doing enough to promote volunteering?
A sizeable 44% of those surveyed said that they would like to find out more about volunteering, which suggests that there is a lack of information on the subject. Public ignorance is once again at the same level as it was before the Olympics – so really, was the impact of the Games Makers as successful as we hoped and expected it to be? Unfortunately, it seems that the answer is no.
The overall message of the Olympics was to ‘inspire a generation’, but these newly released statistics would suggest otherwise. Of course, many charities and organisations took full advantage of the situation, and the figures are not universally bad news. But it is clear that some feel that the Government’s efforts to promote volunteering have left a lot to be desired.
If you are interested in volunteering, why not check out your local volunteering centre or see what opportunities Lattitude offers for volunteering abroad?
