Volunteering magazine, January 2005, Issue 103
www.volunteering.org.uk/magazine
Clive Pankhurst from Volunteers in Action Southwark makes the case for monitoring
It is rare that organisations have any idea how many LGBT people are accessing their services or have materials that are specifically created to target them. The LGBT community can therefore remain largely invisible.
With this is mind via (Volunteers in Action Southwark) has been monitoring the uptake of LGBT volunteers through our application forms. Although some people do find this monitoring offensive it is not that different to monitoring ethnic origin, status or disability and, as with all monitoring information, whether to fill it in is entirely optional.
Monitoring sexuality has brought us face to face with some peoples prejudice and has provided us with some sources of amusement such as when people return their forms with the word normal written across the LGBT section.
Or when some people havent understood the concept and come up to us and ask what is this? I have regular sex with a woman, am I homo or hetero? So, in our own little way we our challenging and educating people!
The other part of our work has been the creation of a postcard, funded through a Timebank Grant (developed by James Banks). This postcard uses positive LGBT images with text on the back that informs people that they could volunteer to support the LGBT community or whichever group they want. The main message we have used is Volunteering is for you showing the diversity of opportunities available and benefits.
So far postcards have been used to target specific venues and also work alongside our regular postcards and have received some good feedback from individual volunteers and the groups which we work with.
If you would like to receive a copy of our LGBT postcard or our BME postcard please contact Clive Pankhurst, Volunteer Development Manager for Individuals at via on 0207 403 2936 email Clive@vias.org.uk
