The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) have joined forces with the Mayor’s Team London to provide busy Londoners with ‘speed volunteering’ scheme, giving them the opportunity to give back to the community in a way that fits in with their busy lives, while encouraging them to try volunteering for the first time. According to an independent survey, 60% of potential volunteers are deterred from volunteering because they feel they do not have sufficient time due to work commitments. People also cited home and family responsibilities, caring for elderly relatives, or studying, as other reasons for not being able to get involved. This initiative will allow people to sign up for short, sharp bursts of activity, which fit around their demanding schedules, whilst making a real difference to their local communities. TCV opportunities will enable volunteers to improve local outdoor spaces whilst getting active and reaping benefits to their health in the process. The scheme is the latest development in the Mayor's Team London volunteering programme, which has seen almost 62,000 Londoners help out across the capital in the last two years. TCV are running five programmes across all parts of London where volunteers will get involved in activities such as hedge-laying, tree planting and path creation. There will be 100 sessions run over the programme period (one year) with the sessions typically lasting 3 hours (but can be extended up to 6 hours if people prefer) and held at a variety of sites across London. The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “Team London’s fantastic new speed volunteering plan has the potential to revolutionise volunteering in the capital. We know more Londoners want to get involved, but often find it challenging to fit volunteering into their hectic lives. “This scheme is designed to encourage everyone to give volunteering a go but with added flexibility. I urge Londoners to see how speed volunteering might work for them.” Rowan Schnauer, Business Development Manager for TCV, said: “We are really excited about the opportunity to get more people to join us and help to transform their local communities. You would be surprised how much you can do in a couple of hours and volunteers find it really rewarding that they can actually see the impact they’ve made after a short session. More information can be found by visiting https://speedvolunteer.london.gov.uk/
