A group which brings together charities around St Albans is inviting residents to get more involved in volunteering.
Community Central St Albans is looking to champion the support that local charities provide for local people and encourage Herts Ad readers to help out.
The district has more than 500 local community groups and charities which help people, often the most vulnerable, in countless ways. Many of these groups are entirely run by volunteers and will support hundreds of people a year.
Bigger, national charities that turn over more than £1 million per annum currently receive 80 per cent of income from across the UK. However 48 per cent of UK charities turn over less than 10K per annum.
These smaller organisations deliver vital services to local people and are reliant on volunteers to continue their work.
Community Central is looking for people to help with befriending, marketing, fundraising, gardening, events, retail and more. The organisation currently has more than 270 volunteering vacancies.
The district’s community transport organisations provide more than 4,000 journeys each year to doctors surgeries, hospitals and shops for people who would normally struggle to get there. However the charities are having to consider rationing their support and services as they do not have enough volunteers.
Project manager Nikki Casey said: “Many people said they had no idea that our district has so many charities helping so many local people. Many people think that volunteering is just about making cups of tea, they don’t realise that there is volunteer work they can do from home and that small charities are really keen to have new volunteers with web, marketing and social media skills.
“Quite a few people were surprised that we could give them a number of volunteering options which fit round their job and family”
Community Central, previously known as CVS St Albans District, runs the volunteer centre inside the district council offices, which supports 900 people a year to get involved in volunteering.
Follow the charity at @CCstalbans on both Twitter and Facebook to be part of its #CountMeIn campaign. To get involved with call 01727814644 or email enquiries@communitycentral.org.uk.
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