The UK Leads The Chart In Volunteering Abroad & It’s Not A Surprise!
As we have tiptoed into another decade and all set to see some fierce changes in the tourism industry, it’s pretty evident that ‘Responsible Travelers’ are gonna increase with time, as more and more millennials set out on volunteer trips and solo travelers sign up for eco-tourism. As a matter of fact, the importance of volunteering abroad has also increased due to the various positive impacts associated with it (like touching other’s lives and spreading happiness, educating the underprivileged & providing healthcare facilities, taking up environmental causes, etc) as well as the influence of Social Media, and a general rise in the consciousness among people.
The UK Volunteering Statistics found that 38% of people had volunteered at least once between 2017–2018, among which 42% were between the age of 16 to 24 years old and 29% of 65 to 74 years old. However, the least likely group to volunteer was 25 to 34 year old’s!
It has also been seen that 46% of people said that they volunteered in order to improve things and help others, while 31% of people said they gave time because the cause was important to them.
There’s no doubt about the fact that the British folks are ahead of others when it comes to charity work or social service. Let’s take a quick look and see why the Brits lead the chart in volunteering abroad.
The concept of ‘community services’ started from Great Britain and later, got popularized as global ‘volunteering’ efforts.
In today’s date, we have all come to know that volunteering involves a noble work of ‘selfless giving’- but how & where did it all start from? When did it really turn from a simple act of kindness to such a widely accepted activity all over the world?
Back in the 12th & 13th Century, the act of ‘community service’ was largely associated with religion (precisely, Christianity) and there were at least 500 voluntary hospitals in England, in the medieval times, urging to aid the poor and sick. Later, in the 19th century, we began seeing examples of organized volunteering, such as the YMCA which first opened its doors in London in 1844 and started organizing a wide variety of charitable activities & humanitarian work. During the First & Second World Wars, the British Red Cross played an active role to support the soldiers on the battlefields.
Thus, we have no doubt about the fact that the humble & generous Englishmen have always stayed a step ahead when it came to serving others. It was only during the 1960s, that nations like Australia and the USA started getting aware and came up with much larger organizations, like Australian Volunteers International and International Voluntary Services (USA), to focus on globally-minded volunteering efforts.
There has been a research which proves that millennials in Britain are more keen to travel abroad (on a gap year) and volunteer.
A survey by the Student Times in 2012 estimated around 2.5 million students from the UK planned a gap year for volunteering abroad. This has only increased in the last few years and it clearly reflects the dedication of the millennial travelers to make a positive impact while traveling overseas.
Let’s take a quick look at the statistics provided by the Year Out Group:
- 40% of students did not apply to university before embarking on their gap year
- 60% said that a gap year helped them decide what subject to study at university or which career to choose thereafter
- 66% of students took their academic work more seriously after having a gap year
- 80% of people thought that their gap year added to their employability
- 30% of students set off to travel alone but they returned back making friends for life
The study also showed that 80% of gap year students in Britain signed up for part-time work (babysitting, events staff, dog walking, etc) so that they could sponsor their trip abroad. Some people also organized fundraising programs & dinners, sharing their ideas of gap year explorations with others.
The parents & family members are immensely aware & supportive.
You’d be surprised to know that the British parents approximately spend as much as £995 million a year in helping to fund their children’s gap years! This reflects the awareness of parents in Britain and that they are keen to let their kids experience something out of the box, encouraging the fact that some lessons can only be learned beyond the boundaries of the classroom.
On average, a gap year will cost £2500-£3000 including the airfares, program registration fees, visa fees, and other miscellaneous travel expenses, which often poses a problem for a student due to shortage of funds. A significant percentage (around 30%) of students travel alone on their gap year expedition, and their parents help them financially in achieving this. Only 10% of students fully funded their own gap year, however, in those cases, the parents were equally supportive.
Employers in the UK are more keen to hire people who have some sort of previous work experience, especially volunteer work.
Those who embark on a gap year journey are well aware of the fact that they need to engage themselves in some sort of meaningful work, rather than just wandering from one place to another! Needless to say, being incredibly aware of the job market & competition that prevails, millennials are always looking for first-hand international work experience. And what can be better than volunteering, which is like a double-sided coin, benefitting both the giver & the receiver?
One can choose to volunteer for a project according to the areas of interest & working in a team would help in polishing the leadership & managerial skills. It’ll be a good opportunity to implement theoretical learnings into practical work and understand how to deal with problems, find solutions and make the best use of the resources available. To say the least, students with a volunteer work experience during their gap year abroad will definitely have a better scope of getting employed with a higher salary.
While people from all over the world are becoming aware of threatening global issues like climate change & environmental degradation, human trafficking & poverty, illiteracy & poor healthcare facilities in developing countries, not many have the courage to step out of their comfort zone & do something that would have an impact in the society.
But surely, the Brits aren’t among them!
