This December 5th marks the United Nations International Volunteers Day and this year’s theme is Every Contribution Matters.
It is the very nature of volunteering to make a meaningful difference and contribute to a cause that is important to the volunteer. For volunteers it may not feel significant or life changing, it is part of who they are and what they do to feel enriched.
We hear from volunteer’s time and time again, that they do it because they love it, they enjoy it, and they feel they give something back.
For charities volunteers may be the biggest resource they have, the main way they carry out their charitable purpose and as important as funding. Many groups across Oxfordshire are entirely volunteer run- where every contribution matters from carrying on or not.
Our sector is as wide and diverse as the communities we work or volunteer in. Volunteers are the backbone of much of the voluntary and charity sector and without them their work grinds to a stop.
So, what is happening to support volunteers, and what makes 2025 significant?
2025 has seen the introduction of GoVo, the new flexible volunteering website, aiming to match more people to volunteering across the country. The site has been started by approach from the Postcode Lottery to the Royal Voluntary Service and aims to plug a gap to make volunteering more accessible and within reach to those who may not feel they have the time to volunteer.
2025 has also seen a wave of redundancies across the charity sector, big names, and some local to Oxfordshire are reducing volunteer manager posts, merging in with other roles in HR and administration.
2025 saw the publication of our Small and Mighty report, which documented the struggle in reaching enough volunteers alongside increased demands.
In a country where the increased demand being faced by the charity sector will see a natural rise in demand for volunteers the message that every contribution matters is being felt more than ever. Volunteers are needed across the board to fill trustee roles, administration, support positions, marketing, befriending and so much more. Some of these roles can be flexible, and others are not.
Whilst we can bend roles for volunteers and offer flexibility the voluntary and charity sector also needs to ensure they are meeting the needs of the group they support, and some of this will remain a regular long-term commitment.
This December 5th, let us celebrate volunteers as we do each and every day, valuing the impact of their time and thank them for their contributions to making the voluntary and charity sector a strong place to be.
Jenny Bowley, Deputy CEO