Following discussions at gofod3, WCVA’s Head of Volunteering, Flik Walls reflects on the ambitious New Approach to Volunteering one year on.
What an incredible energy we experienced at gofod3 last month! Standing in a packed room in a sea of passionate faces, I was inspired by a profound sense of shared purpose. Alongside my brilliant colleagues, we gathered to reflect on a pivotal milestone: The New Approach to Volunteering: One Year On.
When we launched this vision, our ambition was bold, to make volunteering a way of life for everyone in Wales. One year later, we can celebrate how this vision is actively shaping volunteering in Wales.
WHY A ‘NEW APPROACH’?
Volunteering is at the very heart of Wales’ identity and is vital to the well-being of our communities. Yet, we cannot ignore the reality that the landscape has shifted. Local groups are struggling, and the ways people give their time are changing. The New Approach is our collective response to these systemic challenges. Our goal is to get the entire system, across all sectors, working cohesively to support, protect, and champion volunteering.
To achieve this, we have identified key enablers that must be embedded across policy areas, organisations and projects, these are:
- Determined leadership to steer the ship.
- Strong infrastructure and resources.
- Clear delivery plans and objectives that focus on action.
- A volunteer-centred approach that revolves around the real, evolving needs of people.
- Cultural fit that respects and reflects the society, language, and unique heritage of Wales.
- Strong communication and engagement, particularly with young people and critical partners.
THE VISION, COMING ALIVE
The most inspiring part of our gofod3 session was hearing from organisations using Volunteering Wales Strategic Grants to bring these enablers to life. We looked at three distinct projects proving that when you change your approach, you change your impact.
Each project has taken a fundamental aspect of lived experience, from the frustration of a littered community, the problem of trying to volunteer as a parent of young children, or the experience of being from a minority ethnic background in Wales. These experiences have been used it as a lens by which to explore and improve (and sometimes, sustain) the route into volunteering.
1. KEEP WALES TIDY: FLIPPING THE NARRATIVE
Jake Castle from Keep Wales Tidy shared the fascinating work tackling ‘Rubbish Behaviour.’ We all know the dread of reading negative online commentary, those discouraging social media comments that attribute blame on the local council.
Using a rigorous, design-thinking framework in partnership with Cardiff University, Keep Wales Tidy is working to transform that negative online energy into constructive, real-world action.
Their early findings show that while online culture can be highly emotional and fuelled by misinformation, the underlying public concern for the environment remains incredibly high. By shaping conversations early and building clear pathways to action, they aspire to redirect online frustration into positive environmental volunteering.
2. FAMILY VOLUNTEERING CLUB: ADAPTING TO MODERN LIVES
We also caught up on the brilliant work of Maddy Mills from the Family Volunteering Club. If volunteering is to become a way of life, it has to fit into the messy, busy realities of modern family life. By creating spaces where parents, carers, grandparents and young children can volunteer together, they are embedding civic engagement into early childhood, ensuring the next generation views volunteering not as an afterthought, but as a natural part of growing up.
Family Volunteering Club are extending an invitation to anyone that would like to hear more about the research findings of their project on 15 July 2026.
What you might not know is that these fantastic projects are just a fraction of the phenomenal strategic volunteering-focused work that is happening in Wales right now. Keep reading to find out how you can learn more and connect with those that are revitalising volunteering in Wales.
3. ADFERIAD CYMRU: BREAKING BARRIERS AND BUILDING BELONGING
Yue Qin, Chloe Harrison, Ffion Evans and Claire Jones from Adferiad Cymru delivered a powerful presentation on their research into removing barriers to volunteering for individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds. Through reflective focus groups, they uncovered deep insights into what it takes to build a truly inclusive volunteer space.
The key takeaway? It isn’t just about recruitment, it’s about belonging and ongoing support. Volunteers need to feel valued and treated equally to paid staff. Adferiad’s recommendations provide a practical blueprint for us all, delivering cultural awareness training for staff, providing translated materials, reimbursing travel expenses, and offering non-monetary support like shared meals. They are now moving into a pilot phase to put this research into practice.
All of these projects will have research, learning and practice to share. Ensure you are in the know, by visiting the TSSW Knowledge Hub. Here you will find useful resources, evaluations and toolkits from across the sector to enhance your approach to volunteering.
WHAT LIES AHEAD: OUR 1-2 YEAR ROADMAP
The journey of embedding this vision is just truly beginning. Over the next 24 months, WCVA and our partners will be focusing our energy on six strategic pillars:
- Amplify the vision: Ensuring everyone understands and feels part of this movement.
- Driving adoption: Encouraging more organisations to actively change their practices.
- Sharing knowledge: Building active communities of practice so we aren’t re-inventing the wheel in isolation.
- Equipping the sector: Connecting organisations with the right tools, toolkits, and support.
- Shifting culture: Working at a national level to transform societal attitudes toward giving time.
- Measuring success: Building a sustainable dashboard of measures to track our collective progress.
We don’t have all the answers yet, but we have a plan, we have some resource and we have a sector that cares more than ever about making sure volunteering is here to stay!
WANT TO BE INVOLVED?
The New Approach to Volunteering is designed to take us to a future where volunteering is a way of life. It’s purposefully designed to be a living, breathing movement driven by people like you. If you want to play your part in building a Wales where giving back is woven into the very fabric of who we are, to turn your reflections into action, and join others that care, join one of the existing volunteering Communities of Practice. Our voice and our power are stronger together.
If you’d like to have a conversation about how you can bring this to life in your area of work or volunteering, let’s have a chat. You can reach me at fwalls@wcva.cymru.