Community Service Volunteers (CSV) - over 100,000 volunteers

Non-rejection policies

CSV is unusual in that it operates a non-rejection policy for 16-35 year olds. It encourages people who are often excluded from mainstream volunteering – such as refugees, people with physical disabilities, mental health problems, ex-offenders, or young people excluded from school and those who are homeless – to take an active part in their community.

Jean Pardey of CSV explains: 'Our non-rejection policy means that we work with the individual to find the right opportunity for them. Many people who come to us have already faced rejection and been told that they do not 'measure up.' We've found that a statement about non-rejection is a very positive way to start a relationship with a volunteer.

'There are great benefits for the volunteers. For instance, there was a guy with a history of mental health problems who volunteered and was able to use this experience as evidence of current stability and commitment to a future employer. Non-rejection gives people self-esteem and challenges the perceptions of others about who can be a volunteer – and of course it benefits the community as well.

'Some organisations might be concerned about working with people with offending backgrounds or challenging behaviours. Non-rejection only works when both volunteers and the community are supported, and CSV employs staff specifically to manage a detailed matching process to ensure that needs are met on both sides of the relationship. Any risks have to be understood and managed, and the necessary support provided.

'My fear is that the voluntary sector may seek to minimise risk to such an extent that many people will be excluded from volunteering. Volunteering is vital to the wellbeing of the community. It's important that we work together to manage risk and minimise failure without excluding those people who are most challenging to us.'

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