Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Local Govt | National News Video | Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Search

 

Getting Manly

Getting Manly

“Most community organisations are unconsciously geared toward catering for women volunteers”, says Volunteering Canterbury’s Outreach and Marketing Manager, Glenda Martin, and with that comes the risk of alienating a whole heap of potential volunteers without even knowing it.

“Whatever the reasons for that – and there are various explanations which I hear from time to time”, Martin said, “what is important is to let people know that volunteering, lending a hand, or however we want to phrase it, is something that everyone can do.” With volunteering becoming increasingly skill-based, it’s more about asking men and women what they want to do as volunteers – what skills do they want to offer back to the community. Volunteering New Zealand has recently released its Overview Paper on the State of Volunteering in New Zealand (April 2017) and not surprisingly it confirms that a lack of time is generally the most common reason given for not volunteering. “It’s reasonable to assume, if time is limited, that people want to be very specific about where they gift that time”, Martin says. Unable or disinterested in committing to long-term volunteering results in a trend towards what is referred to as ‘episodic volunteering’ – short term and perhaps ‘one-off’. And this trend results in a higher turnover of volunteers and, as a result, often increased recruitment costs for organisations.

Engaging men in volunteering programmes is a subject which often comes up around the table when volunteer co-ordinators get together and it was for that reason that Volunteering Canterbury devoted a recent monthly networking gathering to that subject, ‘Supporting Men as Volunteers’.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

Donald Pettit, from the Christchurch Men’s Centre, agreed that language is important. Volunteering, contributing or making a difference – these are not necessarily terms which resonate with our menfolk. Start talking about lending a hand, pitching in or helping out, though, and you will get men’s attention. Dante Fyfe, a mentor with charity, Pillars, said that for him it was important to know what difference he would be making in his volunteer role and having clarity right from the start as to what his time commitment would be.

As part of her role, Martin says she strives to encourage Volunteering Canterbury 270 member organisations to think outside their usual ‘communities’ for volunteers. “Male volunteers”, she says, “tend to be hugely resourceful and once involved, become very committed to a cause”. Recruitment aside, to retain those volunteers is about knowing them, knowing what motivates them, and treating them as the treasures they are.

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.