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GoldStar - Promoting good practice in managing volunteers from socially excluded groups

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Project	Description
Darlington Association on Disability	Helping disabled people and carers through their own involvement as volunteers

Darlington Association on Disability (DAD) is a user-led organisation, established in 1986. It exists to promote independence and choice through the provision of services, support and information to meet the needs of disabled people and carers in Darlington and surrounding areas. DAD provides ten different projects, supported by volunteers working across the organisation, these being: Access Interest group; 'Dash' (after school and holiday play care); Dimensions Disability Initiative; Direct Payments Support Service; Volunteer Service; Disability Equality Training; Information Service; Shopmobility; Carers' Support Service and Parents Forum.

DAD’s Equal Access Volunteering project aims to build on its current track record of recruiting, supporting and training disabled people and young people into volunteering. The key element of the project is peer support. Disabled people are actively involved in the recruitment process. The benefits of volunteering are promoted by disabled people who have already overcome barriers of self-confidence, negative attitudes, lack of skills and physical access, to successfully volunteer in a range of different roles and organisations.

Recruitment is targeted in deprived wards. A mapping exercise was undertaken which revealed that service users were disproportionately concentrated in deprived wards, but volunteers were more likely to come from more affluent wards. Twenty additional volunteers have been recruited as a result of targeted recruitment in Darlington’s most deprived wards and this has been extended to other wards where mapping identifies that few disabled people are involved in volunteering.

Recruitment is also targeted to attract disabled people. Examples include information in various formats, including talks to the local deaf group with a British Sign Language interpreter and lipspeaker present and large print information. Critical aspects of this approach include:

Not recruiting to existing vacancies, but finding out about what skills/interests potential volunteers have
Getting people into have an interview prior to volunteering
Matching volunteers to appropriate roles

Support is offered at every stage to help prospective volunteers with application forms, references and CRB checks. The focus is always with a ‘can do’ attitude.

DAD has a strong commitment to equality of opportunity exemplified through clearly developed policies. DAD’s Equal Opportunities Policy and Action Plan ensure a high level of commitment throughout the organisation to ensuring that all its policies, practices and procedures are welcoming and open to all. The policies are regularly reviewed by disabled people.

Volunteers are able to make a difference to the organisation by sitting as a member of the Executive Committee, reviewing policies and procedures, or by joining the Peer Support Group and Equal Access Volunteering Reference Group. DAD also organises Volunteer Recognition events, social nights and other volunteer oriented events. A volunteer newsletter is also produced.

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