What’s Happening in the Third Sector?
Pride in Volunteering
Last month was Pride Month, and while we definitely have pride every month, it is nice to celebrate extra hard in June!
You might not immediately tie volunteering to pride, but the inception of the pride movement could be described as volunteering. A group of people volunteering their time towards a political and social drive for positive change.
LSE Volunteer Centre have written a fantastic blog on the history of volunteering and the LGBTQ+ Movement, which you can read here.
It is unfortunate that, after a great deal of progress, we now seem to be regressing in our push for equality. We’re living in a fractured world where hate is becoming increasingly loud in all spaces, including towards the LGBTQ+ community – especially our trans friends. That’s why it’s important to keep championing organisations that keep humanity and empathy at their core.
The Big Do
Following on with the theme of community, The Big Lunch and The Big Help Out teamed up last month for a weekend dubbed ‘The Big Do’.
You can take a look at some of the great community volunteering that took place over 5th – 7th June via this blog post.
You can also watch their short film of the weekend here:
New Toolkit: Pathways to the Past – Involving Volunteers and Connecting Communities
A new toolkit aims to help heritage organisations engage volunteers and communities as a whole. Developed by Tempo Time Credits and funded by the National Lottery, it’s rooted in real-world stories and projects.
If you’ve struggled to involve volunteers in meaningful, inclusive, and sustainable ways, this toolkit is for you. While it was developed based on findings in Neath Port Talbot, its principles can apply to any organisation anywhere. It’s designed to be fully adaptable to volunteering programmes in multiple different contexts.
Find out more about the toolkit and download it for free here.
Strengthening Scotland’s Third Sector
Members of Scottish Parliament have voted overwhelmingly in favour of backing a formal partnership with the third sector to ensure its long-term sustainability and independence.
“This is a momentous opportunity to redefine how government and the sector works together, in a partnership of equals, to collectively achieve better outcomes for our communities.”
Shirley-Anne Somerville, Social Justice Secretary
While this move is obviously welcomed by the sector, there are some concerns about the commitment level of the government. There have been calls to underpin the motion with formal laws to ensure funding is continued in the long term.
Read Voluntary Health Scotland’s thoughts on the move here.
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