This year, our annual panel event explored the barriers to volunteering faced by underrepresented learners1 within a university context and those in the wider community.  

Sammy Alcock, the Senior Community Volunteering Officer at City St George’s, University of London, chaired the panel and we were delighted to have two internal staff members - Michel Salamouni, a UniCares Coordinator2 and Dr Angela Ellis Paine from Bayes Business School – sit on the panel. We were also lucky enough to be joined by a charity partner; Stephanie O’Neill-Winbow (Steph), Head of Community Programmes at Art Explora3. 

The panel were in agreement with the barriers to volunteering people were facing, most prominently through time. Angela questioned what it was that time for volunteering was competing against, concluding that it’s either study time, leisure or work and whether volunteering is separate to one or could be seen as part of those activities. Charities that ask students, in particular underrepresented learners, to volunteer for large commitment periods, risk intimidating the prospective volunteers. It shows a lack of awareness of the commitments some students have, such as caring responsibilities, full-time studies and paid work. Steph shared that at Art Explora, it’s about shorter sessions (1hr30) and roles that are tangible and impactful, “it needs to feel achievable”. Michel contributed that many of the students he works with are excluded from volunteering because they are time-scarce, he suggested that organisations need to think about what volunteering looks like for those students and create some malleability around what volunteering means. We are of course aware that many charities rely mostly on volunteers and that they need commitment for the charity to prosper as well as to fulfil the needs of beneficiaries, but Angela suggested that one way of resolving this issue is to break roles down so that multiple people can engage for smaller periods of time.  

Confidence was another factor that the panel acknowledged was a considerable barrier to volunteering. Steph explored this from the perspective of the cultural sector4, explaining that people have to feel they know enough about art in order to participate, they have to feel that they belong before they are willing to enter the space and engage. This, she acknowledged, is a part of a much wider conversation within the cultural sector and that those who typically volunteer, do so because they feel that they belong in those spaces. Michel emphasised that the groups of students he works with don’t have typical support networks that other students may have and therefore they don’t have someone informing them of the benefits of volunteering and encouraging or instilling confidence in them to get involved. If people lack confidence, they are unlikely to take it upon themselves to find volunteering opportunities and engage. Angela suggested that asking people directly for their contribution could help with those who lack confidence as it can help people feel they possess the skills and knowledge that others are actively seeking. 

Formal volunteering can be understood as volunteering that has a regular allocated period of time and a clear role description, created by the volunteer’s supervisor (Community Southwark 2020:2). It also usually takes place with an organisation; this could look like befriending or mentoring (GOV.UK 2024). Informal volunteering on the other hand, may not be organised by a group but is carried out by an individual on their own accord, perhaps based on a need in the community that is not being filled (Community Southwark 2020:3). According to Angela, there is evidence that argues informal volunteering is more diverse as it is less dictated by educational and social status.  

There is a huge point to be discussed of the emotional labour involved in volunteering, especially when those volunteers have lived experience. Michel explained that the students he works with often choose their university degree with the idea of giving back to a community and we constantly see this with students across volunteering. Many students who apply to client facing volunteering roles, often draw on a personal or familial experience that has led them to volunteering.  We asked Michel for his perspective on best practice of the voluntary sector, when students with lived experience, partake in volunteering. He emphasised that it’s about approaching the situation with sensitivity and finding out why the individual has chosen to volunteer and what their context is. The individual should not be expected to disclose sensitive information but there needs to be an understanding that they may not be able to commit in the same way as other volunteers. It’s about letting them share their experience and shaping the role so that it’s accessible and has a degree of flexibility.  

Angela highlighted the evolution of the voluntary sector and how organisation’s practices have changed. Some organisations that started off as being user led with groups of likeminded people, over time the closeness between beneficiaries, staff and volunteers has dissipated and organisations became more remote and professionalised. Dayson et al state that stakeholder ambiguity5 results in “greater institutional sensitivity” and a deep understanding of the people the organisation is supporting (Dayson et al 2022:2). This model therefore not only benefits the service users but also the volunteers.  

An interesting conversation around the term ‘self-excluding’ emerged. We had initially been using the term to refer to students who may not engage with volunteering as a result of barriers previously mentioned however Angela made a notable point, that ‘self-exclusion’ alludes that there is an active choice being made. Instead, it is that the individual is the receiver of the exclusion, not creating it – ie they are being excluded, rather than self-excluding. Angela went on to explain that there is a huge pressure for young people who experience exclusion and marginalisation, to formally volunteer and that is problematic itself. She then referenced a piece of research by Emma Taylor-Collins exploring how girls, from socially deprived backgrounds, are taught to think about themselves regarding what a ‘good girl’ and a ‘successful girl’ looks like. Some characteristics that were noted were looking after siblings, successful at school and volunteering. Taylor-Collins talks about volunteering in this way as ‘hope labour’ (Taylor-Collins 2019:3). It is “unpaid or under-compensated labour undertaken in the present, usually for exposure or experience, with the hope that future work may follow” (Mackenzie et al 2020:1841).  

The idea of demonstrating one’s values through volunteering, was raised by a guest in the audience, they noted that volunteering can offer men a space in which they can share their values. This feels particularly important with the current political climate concerning the far right and misogynistic figures. Something that we are constantly struggling with at City St George’s Volunteering, is encouraging male students to volunteer. We have found recently, that through tailored and supported volunteer programmes, male students want to volunteer and will apply when an element of discretion is offered in the process, i.e. being able to engage initially online rather than at a Fair.  

Sammy concluded the panel by asking each of the panellists for a piece of advice they’d give to organisations to make volunteering roles more accessible. Most notably, it was mentioned that organisations must listen to the volunteer and from there a flexible role can be tailored that meets both the organisations and the volunteers needs. The advice offered is of course not exhaustive but food for thought and offers the opportunity for further conversations to be opened within the voluntary sector.  

1 Groups classed as underrepresented learners based on City St George’s, University of London’s, Access and Participation Plan: students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds (IMD Q1); Students of Colour; Gypsy, Roma and Traveller; students who have experience in Local Authority Care; young adult carers; students with a declared disability (including physical, learning and mental), students estranged from their families, Refugees and Asylum Seekers; LGBTQIA+. 

2 Michel works with students who are estranged from their families, young adult carers, students who have experience in Local Authority Care and Refugees and Asylum Seekers. 

3 Art Explora are opening the conversation around art in care homes to those who may not feel engaged. They take residents on trips to museum and exhibitions and facilitate workshops at the care homes for residents to take part in. 

4 “Cultural and creative sectors are comprised of all sectors whose activities are based on cultural values, or other artistic individual or collective creative expressions” (European Commission 2026) 

5 “a distinctive feature of smaller VSOs which means their stakeholders – such as staff, volunteers, trustees and service users – are more likely to have multiple and overlapping roles” (Dayson et al 2022:2) 

Bibliography  

GOV.UK. 2024. Community Life Survey 2023/24: Volunteering and charitable giving (accessed on 24/02/26, Community Life Survey 2023/24: Volunteering and charitable giving - GOV.UK) 

Community Southwark. 2020. A Guide to Formal and Informal Volunteering. aguidetoformalandinformalvolunteering0d2b.pdf  

European Commission. 2026. Cultural and Creative Sectors (accessed on 25/02/26, Cultural and creative sectors - Culture and Creativity) 

Dayson, H., Bennett, E., Damm, C., Rees, J., Jarvis, C.D., Patmore, B., Baker, L., Terry, V. & Turner, K. 2022. The Distinctiveness of Smaller Voluntary Organisations Providing Welfare Services. Journal of Social Policy 52(4) 800-820.  

Mackenzie, E. & McKinlay, A. 2021. Hope labour and the psychic life of cultural work. Human Relations 74(11) 1841–1863.