Themes
- Personalisation of services
Peer support Be-friending In 1886, after a meeting of the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, it appears some members were discussing a former colleague who had fallen ill and was no longer able to work. They had a whip-round and one of them sent one of their employees to deliver the money and ‘make a reference’ about the situation. This was the first step in creating the Chartered Accountants’ Benevolent Association, which has continued to this day providing financial and other support to Chartered Accountants who have fallen on hard times, and their dependents. There are over 130,000 Chartered Accountants worldwide, so with their dependants about 400,000 people are potential Beneficiaries, the majority in England and Wales.
Services Provided by CABA at the Trustees’ discretion
- Financial support, including regular payments, holiday grants, seasonal hampers and educational grants to the children of Beneficiaries
Financial support for specific costs such as interest free loans for major house repairs Support and advocacy for carers, which can include helping carers access appropriate services and information Support in managing debt – a service which is likely to expand over the next few months and which may involve volunteers The Confidante service, a new telephone service providing an anonymous helpline for any member of the Chartered Accountancy community. Individuals who are seeking help contact a central co-ordinator who matches them to a volunteer – Confidante - who has been trained to be a constructive listener. They have weekly structured discussions with the Confidante who may offer suggestions and may signpost other services which enable the individual to find a way through their difficulties. Volunteers recruited for this role have often overcome some issues in their own lives and undergo stringent recruitment and training. They are supported by professional supervisors who discuss the case with them, the approach they will take, and will help them deal with any distressing issues that may be raised in the course of their work. Volunteer Referees
The majority of CABA’s volunteers are ‘Referees’ whose role is to visit Beneficiaries on a twice yearly basis and represent CABA to the individual and the individual to CABA. One visit is timed to coincide with the annual renewal of application for assistance, which the volunteer can help with, and the other is six months later. Often a Beneficiary does not consider asking for specific help but a Referee can see things that would never show in a paper assessment. For example, a Referee noticed that his Beneficiary’s house was cold. The Beneficiary had gas central heating but the gas supply had been cut off for non-payment of a large bill. This meant that his young visiting daughters were cold when they came on Saturdays. CABA does not pay off pre-existing debt, but the Referee suggested that CABA should purchase an electric heater and also warm dressing gowns and slippers for the girls. Similarly, another volunteer Referee noticed that an individual had had windows broken and had boarded them up but was unable to afford re-glazing. Again, CABA was able to provide financial support so that the individual could have these repairs done and to take out an appropriate insurance policy. Many of CABA’s Beneficiaries are embarrassed about making an application and dealing with CABA but the volunteer Referees help provide the personal touch, which eases the Beneficiaries’ concerns and enables CABA to be more effective in what it does. Individual volunteers make a minimum commitment to visit twice a year but some visit much more regularly and develop close friendships.
Recruitment and demographics
Recently, volunteers have been mainly recruited through regional recruitment roadshows. The Referee volunteers receive clear guidance as to their role and what is expected of them and the confidantes undergo rigorous training. All volunteers are CRB checked and almost all are Chartered Accountants, which means they share a common background with Beneficiaries. The youngest volunteer at the moment is 38 but the typical volunteer is newly retired, and currently they continue until 75. They reflect the demographic of Institute members. Older volunteers tend to be male and white, while there is an increasing number of younger recruits who are female and from a wider cultural mix. There are currently 220 volunteer Referees with more in recruitment.
Support and Recognition
All CABA volunteers are invited to the biennial conference with a mixture of training, workshops and socialising, and it is planned to develop regional training events that will provide opportunities for volunteer Referees to meet more regularly. Volunteer Referees say that they volunteer because they can see how they have helped individuals and made a difference. A recent survey of volunteers reveals that every one feels valued by their Beneficiary, and they can see that their work makes a positive difference. Such is their level of fulfilment, that many of them are keen to help a second, or even a third Beneficiary.
John W Denney
Volunteers’ Co-ordinator
01788 556366
johnd@caba.org.uk
Further information and case studies can be found on the CABA website www.caba.org.uk
