National Volunteers Week

June 1st to June 7th is National Volunteers’ Week.  This is the 35th year of the event which recognises and thanks people volunteering their time to provide services and events that are not provided by authorities.

In the midst of austerity measures which have seen more and more services cut back, with less and less provision and funding across the board by official organisations, volunteers have increased in the last 9 years, to keep their communities functioning and improve quality of life for the most vulnerable members of our community, as well as providing facilities, services and events for the whole community.

Derbyshire County Council wants to encourage people to do more.

From Saturday 1 June to Friday 7 June 2019, the council promotes that “community-minded residents will have the chance to learn about the variety of volunteering opportunities available in Derbyshire at events being held around the county”.

Volunteer events:

• Monday 3 June and Wednesday 5 June 2019 – Volunteer Passport stall based at County Hall, Matlock – come and find out more about the Volunteer Passport scheme
• Tuesday 4 June 2019 – Building Resilience Hub, 96 Market Street, Shirebrook from 10am to 2pm – find out more about volunteering opportunities in Derbyshire
• Wednesday 5 June 2019 – Amber Valley CVS, 33 Market Place, Ripley, from 5:30pm to 7pm – find out about volunteering opportunities in Amber Valley – for more information contact Kirsty Barker, tel: 01773 512076

Amber Valley Centre for Voluntary Services is “the local organisation for the district’s voluntary sector and the main provider of support for local voluntary and community groups.” They are a member of NAVCA (the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action) and have over 300 member organisations and support up to 500 voluntary groups in the Amber Valley area.  They will be celebrating National Volunteers Week with a late night opening of their office on Ripley Markey Place, on Wednesday.   They encourage anyone to drop in to have a chat about volunteering or to share their story.

You can also find this event on Facebook.

The County Council supports “a number of different schemes and projects around Derbyshire that provide people with opportunities to volunteer.”

This includes: crisis volunteering with Derbyshire Emergency Volunteers team,  the TimeSwap initiative, training via the Volunteer Passport scheme, and the Disability Employment Service.

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Communities, Cllr Carol Hart said:

“Volunteers in Derbyshire are hugely important to the community and help us support a wide range of activities and services.

“While opportunities to help out are available all year-round, Volunteer’s Week provides the perfect chance to let residents know about the various different ways they can give their time to help others.

“There are lots of ways to get involved – whether that’s getting out and about with our Countryside Service, helping out at museums or being part of our befriending service supporting isolated adults – there’s something for everyone.”

To volunteer:

The Derbyshire Directory  lists more than 3,000 voluntary and charitable organisations in the county.

Amber Valley Centre for Voluntary Service lists volunteering within Amber Valley,  including Belper, by type of work.

Derwent Valley Mills has a volunteer page.

You can volunteer for ecological, ethical, and community projects through Transition Belper.

Hope For Belper, the Food Bank, and Street Angels are run by volunteers and can be found HERE.

Nailed and Derwent Valley on Demand also need volunteers to run and can be contacted at editor@nailed.community

1st and 2nd June are also the dates for the Belper Goes Green eco, community and music festival, which is organised, built and run entirely by Transition Belper volunteers. You can join Transition Belper at the festival, at the Rugby Club, next to Babington Hospital.