VSO: Sharing skills, changing lives

Our history

In 1958, eight 18 year old men went overseas with VSO. For VSO founders Alec and Mora Dickson, this was the realisation of a vision. For the young men, it was the beginning of a voyage of discovery.

Since then, more than 32,000 volunteers have shared their skills in over 120 countries. Here are some of the highlights of VSO's history.

• 1958 Alec and Mora Dickson start VSO in the UK and the first request for volunteers arrives from the Bishop of Borneo
• 1958 David Brown becomes the first volunteer in Sarawak, Borneo
• 1959 Althea Corden and Bronwyn Quint, the first female volunteers, are recruited; Althea goes to Borneo, Bronwyn to Kenya
• 1962 VSO Local Groups are formed: Corby, Warrington, Kettering and Oxford are the first
• 1963 Roger Goodchild becomes the first blind volunteer leading a team of four technical workers in Yemen
• 1966 Ivy Hill, 60, becomes VSO's first older volunteer
• 1968 VSO works in 61 countries with 1420 volunteers overseas
• 1971 VSO's first overseas office opens in Papua New Guinea
• 1974 Last school leaver placed - marking a change in the way VSO looks to its volunteers
• Mid-1970s VSO begins campaigning activities to influence the policy and practice of other volunteer sending organisations
• 1978 The average age of volunteers is 25. VSO works in 30 countries with 956 volunteers overseas
• 1983 VSO puts into print a strategy for education work
• 1989 VSO Netherlands opens
• 1988 The average age of volunteers increases to 28. VSO works in 38 countries with 780 volunteers overseas
• 1990 First VSO volunteers go to Eastern Europe following the break-up of the Soviet Union
• 1995 VSO Canada opens
• 1998 The average age of volunteers increases to 33. VSO works in 48 countries with 1,939 volunteers overseas
• 1999 VSO starts working in HIV and AIDS, which becomes a priority area
• 1999 Global Xchange - an innovative youth volunteering programme - is launched
• 1999 VSO launches VSO Business Partnerships, a programme that enables staff from corporate partners to be seconded to VSO placements
• 2000 Governments around the world sign up to the Millennium Development Goals, agreeing targets for tackling poverty
• 2000 VSO Jitolee opens in Kenya as VSO's first Southern recruitment base
• 2000 VSO Bahaginan opens in the Philippines
• 2001 National Volunteering - VSO's groundbreaking in-country volunteering scheme - begins
• 2004 VSO is voted top international development charity at the Charity Awards
• 2004 VSO Ireland opens
• 2004 iVO (iVolunteer Overseas) India opens
• 2005 VSO plays a major part in the Make Poverty History rally in Edinburgh
• 2005 VSO merges with beso, the short-term volunteering organisation, and begins to offer short-term placements
• 2005 HRH Princess Anne becomes Patron of VSO
• 2006 The innovative NHSScotland partnership is launched, which enables NHSScotland employees to work as volunteers overseas
• 2006 VSO launches its Diaspora Volunteering initiative, a partnership with Diaspora organisations that enables professionals to volunteer in their or their family's country of heritage
• 2007 The average age of volunteers increases to 41. VSO works in 34 countries with 1,500 volunteers overseas
• 2008 The UK Government announces a £13 million fund to support pensions for public sector professionals who volunteer with VSO
• 2008 Over 2300 VSO campaigners successfully influence DFID to specifically address the needs of women in its HIV and AIDS strategy

• Vision
• Our History
• What we focus on
• Case studies