BBC No Home Season
The BBC and YouthNet worked in partnership to deliver thousands of volunteering opportunities to the BBC website as part of their No Home season: a two-week season of radio and television programmes that aimed to update the publics view of social inequality and homelessness in 21st Century Britain, and to provide ways in which the public can help a homeless person through a multitude of interesting and creative volunteering opportunities.
The No Home season
Launched on 18th November 2006, the No Home season coincided with the 40th anniversary of Cathy Come Home, a ground-breaking documentary that examined homelessness and social inequality in Britain during the 60s.
With more than 5,000 opportunities to volunteer with homeless organisations on www.do-it.org.uk, the BBC recognised that YouthNet could provide the public with access to these opportunities during the No Home season.
How YouthNet supported the campaign
YouthNet delivered an XML feed of homeless and housing volunteering opportunities from the do-it.org.uk database directly to the BBC No Home season website. This allowed visitors to the BBC site to search for volunteering opportunities to help homeless and housing organisations in their local area without leaving the site.
YouthNet's expertise made a difference to what the BBC could offer their audience, and resulted in a season that had much more impact.
YouthNet also created registration pages that were branded with both the BBC and do-it.org.uk logos, which meant that volunteers experienced a seamless journey from searching for opportunities on the BBC site, to registering their interest for the opportunity, then back to the BBC No Home site when they had applied.
In addition to the XML feed and joint-branded registration pages, YouthNet will also report on volunteer activity during and after the campaign, including the number of searches on the XML feed, the total number of applications and the number of applications by type of volunteering activity. Overall volunteering activity will also be measured through a survey of opted-in volunteers after the campaign has finished.
The BBC says:
"A key ambition of the BBC's No Home season was not just to raise awareness about homelessness in the UK - but to make it easy for people inspired by the programmes to get involved in volunteering at local projects. do-it.org.uk provided an XML feed solution of relevant opportunities straight to our season website, and in the process a one stop shop for any visitor to our website to find out how to get more involved.
The do-it's team expertise made a difference to what we could offer our audience, and resulted in a season that had much more impact."
Paul Manners, BBC