This week is national Volunteers’ Week (which runs until Thursday 7 June) and Calderdale Council is hoping to inspire more local people to give volunteering a try.
Cllr Daniel Sutherland, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning, Housing and Environment, said:
“Over the last year, 1,500 volunteers have completed projects in 200 local places. We want to say a massive thank you to these volunteers, build on their amazing efforts and encourage even more people to get involved and help make a difference in their communities.
“Local people’s outstanding kindness and resilience is one of the things that make Calderdale distinctive. This will help to shape our borough’s future, supporting our Vision 2024 to make Calderdale a place where people want to live, work and visit.”
There are many volunteering roles within the Council, with more than 300 volunteers helping the Council to deliver a wide range of services – including parks, libraries, museums and youth centres. To find out more about the roles available, visit the Council’s dedicated volunteering web page: https://www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/residents/jobs-and-volunteering/volunteering
The Council has committed a further £400,000 to the voluntary and community sector to develop volunteering across Calderdale from 2018 to 2021. The Council’s previous grant-funded work in the sector has supported over 100,000 volunteer hours from 2015 to 2018, covering areas such as supporting the safety of town centres at night; community arts; encouraging people back into work; and creating inclusive spaces for LGBTQ young people.
During Volunteers’ Week the Council is stepping up its work to promote volunteering. It’s supporting a special market stall in Halifax Borough Market until Thursday 7 June, from 10am until 2pm, hosted by Citizens Advice Calderdale. The Council and a variety of Calderdale organisations will be on hand to answer questions, give information about current volunteering opportunities and support people to access them. Information will also be available at the Mayor’s market stall on Southgate in Halifax town centre on Friday 8 June.
People can also find out how to support a charity that matters to them, by attending the ‘Becoming a charity trustee – could it be for me?’ session on Friday 8 June at Princess Buildings in Halifax town centre, from 11am to 12pm. Booking is essential – please email kala.wild@calderdale.gov.uk to reserve a place. The informal session will be run by the Voluntary Sector Infrastructure Alliance and the Council and will help people to learn a new skill and develop their career by using their experience to assist a charity. There will also be an opportunity to sign up for a charity trustee ‘speed match’ session later this year.
Calderdale Council and Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group fund the Voluntary Sector Infrastructure Alliance(external link) to provide volunteering support, advice and training across Calderdale.
The Council is also holding internal events during Volunteers’ Week to help more services recruit volunteers and to thank and recognise everyone involved in volunteering for the Council.
In 2015 the Council refreshed its corporate volunteering policy. Since then, it has been developing a more consistent approach to managing volunteers across the Council, including launching the new web page to promote opportunities for people to volunteer.
For more information about the Volunteers’ Week events, please contact kala.wild@calderdale.gov.uk