Some interesting reading

Happy New Year to all my readers.  

To start of the year I thought I'd share with you a couple of interesting articles I've come across.

'The rise of the arm chair volunteer' was published by Nesta.  Being able to offer more flexible volunteering opportunities that can be carried out remotely is something more charities are realising the benefit of.  88% of UK adults have internet access at home and most are likely to have a personal laptop or tablet from which they could carry out voluntary work.  Additionally the number of people working from home is increasing and is a trend that shows no signs of slowing.  Taking all this into account charities can benefit by tapping into this rise of  'arm chair volunteering'.

Here at Pro Bono O.R. we always look to identify if projects or parts of projects can be carried out remotely.  We have found this increases the volunteer pool, as volunteers are able to support charities not in their locality or even in their own country in some cases.

Centre for Aging Better have published a report looking at what the scientific evidence says about the effects of volunteering for those in later life - defined variously as 50+, 55+ or 60+ depending on which research paper is being reviewed.

There are many ways in which you can volunteer your time, 'Other Pro Bono Support' on our website lists a variety of organisations which offer pro bono support and who require volunteers.  Additionally if you have analytical/operation research skills and would like to volunteer your time to Pro Bono O.R., please do get in touch.