17 March 2005
Volunteering England warmly welcomes today's announcement by Fiona Mactaggart MP, the Home Office Minister with responsibility for volunteering, of additional resources to support the Year of the Volunteer 2005.
The additional £3m to increase the capacity of the local volunteer center network to respond to additional activity as a result of the Year, is welcome confirmation of the key role played by volunteer centres in matching volunteers with opportunities, as well as in marketing and support.
Christopher Spence, Chief Executive of Volunteering England, said, “This additional support for the local volunteering infrastructure provides vital resources which will enable the network to deliver the objectives for the Year and ensure a lasting legacy. We also warmly welcome the allocation of funding to the Media Trust for marketing and to Community Service Volunteers for promoting employee volunteering in the public sector.”
Application forms and details on the eligibility criteria are available from the grants section of the Volunteering England website
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Notes to editors:
- Year of the Volunteer 2005 is owned by volunteers, led by a partnership between Community Service Volunteers (CSV) and the Volunteering England Consortium, and supported by the Home Office.
- The Volunteering England Consortium consists of Volunteering England, TimeBank, do-it.org.uk, The Media Trust, Business in the Community and Youth Action Network.
- To find out more about events and activities during the Year of the Volunteer 2005, please visit the official website at www.yearofthevolunteer.org.uk and watch The Community Channel 24 hours a day on Sky 585 and Telewest 233. It's also on ntl 14 and from 6-9am on Freeview 46.
For further information, please contact:-
Tehira Shafiq or Fiona Llewellyn, Volunteering England Tel: 0845 305 6979 or email: Fiona.llewellyn@volunteeringengland.org
or
tehira.shafiq@volunteeringengland.org
