Small-scale online volunteering makes it big

WHILE we have to keep a physical distance, volunteer organisations have found a way to close the gaps and bring people together. To ease the stress and isolation caused by Covid-19, social service agencies (SSAs) have overhauled their programmes, leading to the rapid rise and reign of micro-volunteerism and virtual volunteerism.

According to the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), during Covid-19, many SSAs pivoted to implementing programmes online. Charmaine Leung, managing director of Community Chest, the fundraising and engagement arm of NCSS, said that micro-volunteerism and virtual volunteering came mostly into play in 2020.

SSA Lions Befrienders saw about 2,500 volunteers engaging in virtually since it began its remote programmes in 2020. Seniors receive a tablet and headphones for one-to-one sessions on web conferencing platforms, while video feeds are projected onto screens for group sessions.

The organisation has partnered with more than 20 schools for volunteering between December of last year and March this year alone, in a series of virtual programmes that included crafts and games, said Anthony Tay, Lions Befrienders chairman.

This was a 15 per cent increase from the same period a year ago, which he attributed to the ease and convenience of virtual participation. At least 40 per cent of the schools engaged in more than one virtual activity within a month, Mr Tay added.

With the new formats, employees at DBS Bank, which collaborates with Lions Befrienders, are able to take just one or two hours out of their days to engage the seniors in smaller scale activities. In the past, they would use their two days of volunteer leave to provide half-day or full-day financial literacy workshops and mock interviews or play games.

Adalia Tan, employee volunteerism lead at DBS People of Purpose, credited the flexible and less mentally-taxing nature of micro-volunteerism and virtual volunteerism for its growing popularity among staff, noting that some employees would take advantage of their lunchtimes to volunteer. In the three months following the kick-off of virtual volunteering at DBS in June 2020, the bank saw more than 1,300 sign-ups, she said.

Spend more quality time with mentees

Esther Chia, executive director at DBS Institutional Banking Group, said: "We do not need to worry about physical logistics and the time saved from commuting allows us to spend more quality time communicating with our mentees."

Although the total number of volunteer hours in 2020 fell short of those in 2019 due to Covid-19's disruption, the number of volunteer hours contributed within the same timeframe of June to December in both years was comparable. Ms Adalia Tan added: "The total number of skills-based volunteering hours increased by a surprising 85 per cent compared to 2019."

The number of repeat volunteers at DBS also quadrupled from 2019 following the launch of micro-volunteering and virtual volunteering. "Rather than the usual 'one-and-done' per year, colleagues were signing up for multiple sessions," she added.

With the extended reach of these new formats, DBS has also been able to roll out cross-border volunteering. For example, it partnered with a social enterprise in Hong Kong to carry out a virtual tour of Hong Kong for a group of the elderly in Singapore.

Tan Yilin, vice president at DBS Institutional Banking Group, said: "I also like that I am able to reach out to different groups and a greater number of groups within the same time period, compared with traditional volunteering."

But of course, any change comes with its challenges. To begin with, there was a need to equip the SSAs with the hardware. Virtual volunteering is also less dynamic due to inherent limitations such as the size of a screen, Mr Tay added. Furthermore, in the beginning, Lions Befrienders needed to alleviate the seniors' fear of technology.

Ms Adalia Tan agreed that employees were apprehensive of the difference from their "usual" way of volunteering at first, but information and positive word-of-mouth assuaged their concerns.

While it has its limitations and some tasks still require a physical presence and more time, the organisations agree that micro-volunteerism and virtual volunteerism are here to stay, most likely in a hybrid format.

Contribute to building a culture of care

Volunteering face-to-face is more interactive, is better for relationship-building and provides immediate relief, but virtual volunteerism has clear benefits, said Mr Tay. Ms Adalia Tan added: "More often than not, that bite-sized engagement becomes a meaningful part of their day and they return for more sustained and long-term arrangements."

Community Chest's Ms Leung said: "Volunteering, be it in bite-sized sessions, virtually, or in person, are acts of giving that contribute to building a culture of care for those in need. Over time, we hope that as people see the impact of their giving on the community, they become inspired to continue volunteering, and eventually build a long-term commitment to volunteerism."