Civil Service in the news

A department’s vision and community mission

Community 5000 is a Department of Work and Pensions initiative to give 5,000 hours of voluntary work each year to voluntary and community organisations.

Can you tell us a bit about Community 5000?

Community 5000 supports individuals and teams to give practical skills and time to voluntary and community organisations that support the needs of DWP’s diverse customers. Our aspiration is to give 5,000 days of the Department’s time each year to the third sector through our DWP volunteers. Staff members volunteer in a wide range of organisations, including the Citizens Advice Bureau, the Salvation Army, Action for Blind People, Age Concern, Riding for the Disabled and Crisis.

The scheme enables people working for the Department to gain a deeper understanding of our customers and learn how to support them better, while at the same time make a real difference on behalf of charities and voluntary groups.

What is the Marton Cemetery project and who are you working with to complete it?

During Volunteers Week, 62 volunteers from DWP will each be spending a day helping to restore the Marton Cemetery in Blackpool.

Working alongside disabled adults and local residents and supported by local businesses, they’ll be clearing rubbish and weeds; creating new paths; and planting flowers and shrubs. Each team of ten volunteers will be given a team challenge and objectives for the day.

DWP is supporting the Blackpool Learning and Disability Partnership on the project, which helps adults with learning disabilities at the same time as transforming and restoring the town.

What kind of a difference are you hoping to make with the project?

The Blackpool Learning and Disability Partnership, supported by DWP volunteers, has worked successfully over the last three years transforming a previous unused area within Stanley Park, ensuring all environmental issues are taken into account. The Partnership has been recognised by a Blackpool Environmental Action Team award and by encouraging work on further projects such as this.

Through the Marton Cemetery Project, the DWP volunteers are hoping to build pride in the local community, making a lasting difference by restoring the cemetery to a more welcoming and accessible place.

Our ambition is to revisit the project in the future, perhaps making it a milestone in the community’s calendar each year, and also to sustain a long-lasting alliance with the Learning and Disability Partnership through the development of further joint community projects.

Equally important in contributing to a project such as this is the positive impact on the volunteers from the Partnership with learning disabilities. This new and innovative approach to community volunteering is an opportunity for them to work collaboratively, building new and lasting friendships, their self-esteem and confidence, as well as learning and developing new skills.

This project provides a real opportunity to challenge perceptions of people living with learning disabilities from being recipients of care and support to them actively supporting the local community and being proud of their individual contribution.

Why does DWP get involved in such a large way with Volunteers’ Week?

DWP’s commitment to supporting its staff in volunteering is an ongoing one, with the Department aiming to give 5,000 days each year to voluntary and community organisations working with and supporting our customers. Volunteers’ Week is a way of promoting the value of volunteering with our staff, and highlighting the many positive contributions to society made by our staff.

What kind of effect does Community 5000 and volunteering in general have on the people in the Department?

Feedback from participants demonstrates that Community 5000 is a morale-boosting, powerful and often humbling experience, prompting our volunteers to reflect on how they put their experience into practice in their work (through a greater understanding of customers’ day-to-day lives and the issues they face), and creating a greater sense of pride in their work.

Early evaluation of participants showed that 100% find taking part a positive experience, 81% feel it increases their understanding of customer needs and issues and 57% are encouraged to consider taking a more active part in the local community.

Community 5000 is also proving to be an effective customer insight tool to improve our strategy and service provision. For example, West Midlands Customer Service Director Margaret Tovey spent a day with a Salvation Army homeless hostel which inspired her to look into ways to provide a more tailored service to help homeless people find work as well as to instigate a review of the support offered to the region’s homeless centres. The district is now appointing a liaison officer whose role will be to strengthen links with Birmingham’s nine main homeless hostels.