Count Me In – summary of the voluntary matters 3 TV programme

What do you think of when you hear the word diversity? Look it up in the dictionary and you'll find words like 'different', 'innovation' and 'variety'. Added to that, in the UK we live in one of the most diverse cultures in the world. Yet for some the word diversity can also suggest political correctness, even tokenism. So what's so great about diversity?

Count Me In features three organisations where having a diverse group of volunteers has brought enormous benefits.

Bristol Zoo Gardens aim to reflect the whole local community in their volunteers, including ex-offenders and people with physical and mental disabilities. They make an effort to match a person with the right team and team leader, as well as making sure that the roles they offer their volunteers suit their particular skills and abilities.

The Black Environment Network (BEN) believes that parts of the community, for example ethnic minority and religious groups, are often ignored in the environmental sector. They act as a bridge, building relationships with different communities so that they feel involved, and ensuring that projects correspond to what interests those groups. Their approach emphasises that people need to feel part of what's on offer before they get involved as volunteers.

Finally, the different communities that live along the banks of the Thames from east to west are reflected in the work of Thames 21, an environmental charity whose volunteers look after the river. They've found that it's important to engage people on their own terms, and to be flexible - their 'Adopt A River' scheme means that groups of volunteers can work to their own timescale, while their quarterly newsletter gives a coherence to the many different projects they support. As a result, they've got around 3,000 volunteers they can call on.

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