Hitting targets in Cardiff: the Black Association of Women
Step Out
| 'It's
important to get out there and meet people. We do presentations
to local groups and to colleges. You have to be flexible
and be prepared to do presentations during the evening
and at weekends.' |
The Black Association of Women Step Out (BAWSO) is a women's
aid group for black and ethnic minority women based in Cardiff.
There are nine staff, six volunteers and the organisation
has an annual income £222,000. Volunteer placements
include working in the refuge, assisting on the 24-hour helpline
and administrative duties in the office. To meet the needs
of their client group, BAWSO primarily recruits volunteers
from black and ethnic minorities.
Mutale Nyoni, chief executive, explains: 'The volunteers
we are looking for do not tend to respond to mainstream press.
We use a mix of methods to recruit volunteers, including advertising
in a local black paper, and personalised letters using a mailing
list from the local Racial Equality Council. Word of mouth
is also really important. It's important to get out
there and meet people. We do presentations to local groups
and to colleges. You have to be flexible and be prepared to
do presentations during the evening and at weekends.'
| 'It's
important
that we prepare
volunteers for
dealing with
difficult issues.' |
The induction period is one month. Volunteers who will be
working in the refuge have a further two months of training.
'It's important that we prepare volunteers for
dealing with difficult issues,' says Mutale. 'One
of our problems is that the families of volunteers sometimes
feel uncomfortable with the work they are doing and volunteers
may leave as a result. Currently we have about six volunteers
but we really need about 20.'
| 'It's
really important to take volunteers seriously and make
sure that they are not marginalised within the organisation.'
|
BAWSO had a volunteer co-ordinator but recently lost funding
for the post, which has had a big impact on the organisation.
'Responsibility for managing volunteers has been taken on
by all staff. This is really not satisfactory - our volunteers
need somebody full time who is looking after their concerns.
It's really important to take volunteers seriously and make
sure that they are not marginalised within the organisation.
In addition to regular volunteer forums, we have a three-day
annual review which volunteers are an integral part of. This
is really important because it gives everyone a feeling of
ownership.'
Comment
BAWSO have developed effective ways to target their recruitment
of volunteers. But, as stressed above, any organisation that
relies on volunteers for its core services must have dedicated
management in place.
|
