Volunteers in UK MountainRescue: responding to increasing demand for rescues and a changed relationship with the state.Mountain rescue (MR) teams in the UK are run entirely by volunteers. The number of MR call-outs has increased, partly because teams are increasingly being used by the police in searches for missing people in non-mountainous areas. Most MR teams feel they are coping with the increased demand although some are becoming selective about which call-outs they respond to. A survey of MR team members and potential recruits reveals a mismatch between potential members' expectation of being engaged in mountain rescue and the reality of the increased work supporting non-mountain incidents. This illustrates a potential strain in the motivations of volunteers being used to deliver public services. The paper explores how this is particular to the type of volunteering involved in mountain rescue, how teams have coped with the increased demand and how the increased use of MR teams is partly a response to changed police management practices. This paper is based on research conducted by Rohan Goel and Tom Nichols as part requirement of a
This chapter draws on research into volunteers in sport and in the Guide Association in the UK (GirlGuides UK) to show the importance of volunteers in these areas. It then uses the same research, as well as findings from a national survey of volunteers, to examine general pressures on the voluntary sector. It concludes with a set of research questions for volunteering. Specifically, sections cover the difficulties faced by volunteers: time pressures on potential and existing volunteers, the demand for 'professionalism', increased complexity of voluntary skills, increased choice and competition for time from other leisure opportunities, a changed attitude to volunteering, and increased geographical mobility.
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