By Lara Samuels, Campaigns Director Media Trust
One of the key target audiences for Volunteering for All consists of those who are disabled or who have limiting, long term illnesses. Our objective is to raise awareness within this group of volunteering, and all of the benefits that the individual can gain through participation within their local community. It is not only about making a positive contribution to others, but also about increasing personal skills and confidence, and really finding one’s way back into the community, where there might previously have been a feeling of exclusion.
One of the initial and most important aspects we worked on was to identify the barriers which currently exist for disabled people regarding volunteering, as it is only by being aware of what these are, that we can break them down and make these activities as accessible for disabled people as for the rest of the population.
We have been able to produce a fantastic range of campaigns to address the major barriers, such as the feeling by disabled people that they might not have a worthwhile contribution to make to their community, or issues around simply not knowing what opportunities are available. As well as forming an advisory group consisting of various disability-focused organisations, including the DRC, the ODI and a range of disability charity and voluntary organisations, we have involved a wide variety of other organisations across the sector in our public-facing campaigns. This means that, as well as reaching the disabled audience with our messages, we are also raising awareness within the Third Sector of the issues which are important to resolve as a first step. For instance, understanding access requirements and having a broader knowledge of how they can support disabled volunteers is central to improving the way in which organisations recruit volunteers from a more diverse background.
Through Media Trust’s links with the media industry, we have been able to garner a great deal of support, including pro-bono media space, media planning and creative work. The result of this is that we can really make an impact and a difference, driving forward the volunteering aspect of the disability agenda into the public domain, and engaging those whom it most affects.
We will be continuing to consult with the DRC and the other disability-focused organisations throughout the life of Volunteering for All to ensure that the shape of our campaigns complements and supports the great work which is taking place in this area.