The announcement comes at the start of Volunteer Week
Girlguiding Scotland’s volunteers deliver the equivalent of £25 million worth of youth work in Scotland to improve the lives of girls, new research shows.
The charity, which supports almost 40,000 girls and just under 9,000 brilliant volunteers, has calculated the cost of youth work in Scotland if volunteers were paid as qualified workers, showcasing the overall saving for the country.
Youth work can aid in transforming lives by providing non-formal education, a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing, and better employment outcomes.
Research carried out by UK Youth and Frontier Economics found that investment in youth work is currently saving the government £3.2 billion a year and contributing £5.7bn annually to the economy.
New research carried out by Volunteer Scotland found that the social value of weekly formal volunteering in Scotland is worth approximately £1,000 per person, per year. That’s roughly equivalent to £20 a week (£19.23). Scaled to population level, the total social value generated by formal weekly volunteering is approximately £530m.
When combined with the economic value of the time people spend formally volunteering, it means that Scottish volunteers are contributing £2.3bn to the Scottish economy in terms of their time and wellbeing.
Girlguiding Scotland offers countless opportunities for girls and young women - all at no cost to the Scottish Government.
The impact guiding has is huge. Girls involved in Girlguiding are 26% more confident than the average Scottish girl.
In the digital age, there is more pressure put on girls to look a certain way and be a certain way. However, 79% of young members said that guiding made them feel good about themselves.
This shows that Girlguiding aids in the girls’ development and is more significant today than ever.
Elaine Rough, Scottish chief commissioner at Girlguiding Scotland, said: “Our volunteers make Girlguiding Scotland what it is and without them, we wouldn’t be able to provide any of the adventures that we do for the girls.
“You can’t put a price on these opportunities but doing so shows just how much work and effort our volunteers put in.
“We hope that by showing the economic value of volunteering and non-formal education that it will help showcase the incredible effort of volunteers not only at Girlguiding Scotland but also other non-profit organisations across the country.”
