30 April 2010
The Citizenship Survey full report for 2008-09 shows the continuing strength of volunteering in this society.
People who volunteer regularly are volunteering more. Those who volunteered at least once a month were in 2008-09 giving on average 12.6 hours in the previous four weeks, a big increase on the 11 hours in 2007-08.
Thirty per cent of the 65-74 age-group were volunteering at least once a month and giving 16.8 hours in four weeks – that’s almost a third of the age-group putting in, on average, more than half a day a week.
These figures are for ‘formal’ volunteering – through clubs, groups or organisations – and demonstrate the role of the volunteering sector in developing and promoting volunteering. Twenty-six per cent of the population volunteered formally at least once a month, levelling off from the peak in the Year of the Volunteer 2005.
We will be examining future stats to check if there is a trend towards more formalisation in volunteering, as numbers volunteering less frequently fell a little. Statistics of those volunteering at least once in 2008-09 decreased from the previous year: for formal volunteering 41 per cent (from 43 per cent in 2007-08) and for informal volunteering to 62 per cent in 2008-09 (from 64 per cent in 2007-08).
- Mike Locke, Director of Public Affairs, Volunteering England
