It is clear that in the future, communities will have to rely more and more on voluntary help especially as the population grows older. Voluntary work for the sick, the elderly, the disabled etc. has long been an integral and valuable part of British life. It is developing and enriching for those who engage in it as well as being immensely beneficial to those served by it.
However, some voluntary organisations have reported a dearth of volunteers in the last two decades, especially those aged 25-50.
There are many reasons for this: many more women are at work, careers seem to impose more onerous obligations and are rarely spent with one firm, there is a vast number of leisure pursuits to attract away from voluntary work and family traditions of church and charitable duties have often died away. Hence many voluntary organisations have been forced to appoint more paid staff to undertake tasks hitherto carried out by volunteers.
