Furlonteer: meet the group matching furloughed workers with volunteer opportunities

With the furlough scheme extended to October, many workers are seeking out volunteering opportunities to find a sense of purpose. Laura Hampson meets the group making it happen
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The word ‘furlough’ has found a firm place in our vocabulary in recent months as roughly 7.5 million employees in the UK are currently on paid leave.

Under the plan, furloughed workers are paid 80 per cent of their salary by the government, capping at £2,500 per month. Earlier this month it was announced this scheme would be extended to October.

Yet, with such a large portion of the workforce not working, there’s likely to be people looking to make a difference with their spare time. Which is where Furlonteer comes in.

Furlonteer is a new initiative with a mission to connect people on furlough with volunteer opportunities at charities and good causes.

One of its founders, Nancy Duncan tells the Standard: “After a few weeks, the novelty of being furloughed and ‘paid to sit on your sofa’ can wear off and some people miss routine, having a work purpose and being mentally stimulated. We realised that many charities and good causes impacted by the pandemic need help, while millions of furloughed people at home have so many different skills that could be put to good use – there was a gap in the market for a concept to connect people on furlough with good causes.”

While Duncan’s regular freelance day job means she hasn’t been furloughed personally, her housemate and brother are both NHS workers, something she says makes it tough to ‘not try to do something positive during this time’. Furlonteer is now a 12-person team, and while the team has never met in person, they have daily Zoom calls and credit Slack and Google Drive for helping them build an enterprise at pace.

Duncan adds: “Charities and good causes have been extraordinarily responsive and we have had a big influx of sign-ups from organisations who are struggling and need the help at the moment. Many charities have been negatively impacted by the pandemic with big fundraising events cancelled so our efforts are supporting them greatly and many are in need of short-term projects which furlonteers are well-placed to provide”

UN Women, Duty to Care and Compassion London are just some of the charities that have jumped on board and Furlonteer has made over 500 matches already.

Sara, a web developer working in the travel industry was told she would be furloughed from April until the end of June. She discovered Furlonteer through social media and was partnered with The Jordan Legacy to help raise awareness and support those who are suffering from mental health problems.

“I knew I wanted to use this time as an opportunity to support others, but I wasn’t totally sure how, so when I saw there was an organisation that would help me match my skills with a charity or good cause in need I was really excited to get involved,” Sara says.

“The Jordan Legacy is a charity set up by Steve Philips in memory of his son who lost his life to suicide last year. Their mission is to reduce the frequencies of suicide and improve people's mental wellbeing. When I signed up I said I could volunteer three days a week, four hours per day but have agreed with my charity that it could be more or less each week, depending on what they needed and the time I have available.”

Sara adds that the signing up process was easy - she filled in the form on Furlonteer’s website and was matched with a charity soon after, something that has given her back her ‘sense of purpose and structure’.

“Now I know there are charities and good causes out there that just need a little helping hand, I'd love to carry this on after my furlough,” Sara continues.

“It’s really opened my eyes to all the amazing work these organisations do and if I can help in any way, big or small, then I’d love to be a part of that. I think the pandemic has given people a chance to re-evaluate what’s important in life and I do think me and a lot of my friends would consider volunteering in the future to help others.”

Duncan adds that it doesn’t matter whether volunteers have a few hours a month to give or a few hours per day, every little bit helps and all of the projects can be done from home.

“Furlonteers get a sense of positivity from the direct impact they have on the organisation they’re working with, and good causes receive much-needed skills from creative services to marketing & PR to technology or business and finance, creating a virtuous circle during this difficult time,” Duncan says.

“I think the world of work will change and people will re-evaluate how they spend their time as we enter a more meaningful economy.”

To find out more about Furlonteer and to sign up, visit furlonteer.com

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