All the challenges of the last few years has, from my perspective and rather counter-intuitively, generated a sense of ambition within the Voluntary and Community Sector that also motivates volunteers. Respect for and contribution to local communities is now wider, it is more action orientated and has more traction then that bygone age called 2019.
Looking at Kingston as a borough, how it performed, came together, responded to challenges since 2020 (lock downs, needs, vaccinations, new levels of poverty previously hidden etc.) gives us a clear picture on how important it is to maintain and build on the partnerships and successes of our collective work. That includes the volunteer experience. To get there I have been “Horizon Scanning” and now lay out a wish list that reflects the importance of always thinking forward. However first, a caveat: this list is what a possible future could look like albeit relying heavily on reasonable funds, resources and partnerships (and the Kingston Volunteer Strategy to also guide us) to make it a reality and success. The purpose of promoting these possibilities is to put then out there front and centre and stimulate alternative suggestions.
- Hubs, e.g. in pubs/shops/community spaces. Take a model of community space as promoted in the 2021 report on Surbiton Resilience “Every-day life in Surbiton” and replicate where practicable across the borough. Volunteers are attracted to helping in their micro-local locations, this would be a brilliant stimulus to that.
- Food Hero’s. Embed the foodbank street collection system that sprung up locally during the last 6 years into the fabric of the borough so that it survives and thrives going forward.
- Time-bank/Skills exchange. Create a borough wide system with focus on stimulating volunteering in women whose first language is not English. This would both increase volunteering numbers and be a massive boon to the volunteer experience of a significantly socially isolated part of our community.
- “Friends of” groups. Expand existing groups for parks/open land/under-utilised green spaces, which is being demonstrated by successful models in other localities. Friends of groups tend to tap into individuals not engaged in their communities already.
- Sports. Bringing together a range of volunteer led sporting activities/clubs under one banner that stimulates physical activity. Sports volunteering could add so much positive value to public health campaigns. This model could equally apply to the local smaller arts and culture groups.
- A social action portal. Create a web-based interface that advertises all social action activities locally no matter how small/micro in nature. This would be really helpful in attracting younger people to activities.
This list is not definitive, as they say “other pipedreams are available” but I commend them to your thinking if, like us at Volunteering Kingston, re-imaging the Volunteer Experience is important to you.
June 2026.