Rural Volunteering

This Specialist Theme of the Good Practice Bank contains a number of resources to help anyone working with or managing volunteers in a rural setting.

You may also like to browse the general resources in the Good Practice Bank's Core Themes. They cover topics such as 'Equal Opportunities and Diversity', 'Protection and Safeguarding of Vulnerable Clients' and 'Creating Volunteer Roles'. Visit the Good Practice Bank index to find a full list of themes.

Overview

While life in rural communities in England shares many of the characteristics of life in urban areas, it's important to recognise a number of differences and how these can affect volunteers.

Volunteer co-ordinators working in rural areas may need to consider issues such as lower access to public transport and local information services and varying levels of poverty, isolation or affluence. Some of the articles listed below offer a detailed analysis of the issues facing rural communities.

A relatively new concept of "rural proofing" has been coined to help organisations consider the needs of rural communities in their planning processes. Some of the resources listed below have been designed to help voluntary organisation begin to 'rural proof'.

While this 'rural volunteering' section of the Good Practice Bank contains articles, examples and links to help anyone working in a rural setting, many of the core themes and other specialist themes in the Good Practice Bank will also contain helpful resources on working with volunteers.