East Dunbartonshire Volunteers Praised by Jo

10.20.40am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 3rd Oct 2005

Jo has given credit to East Dunbartonshire's volunteers for their hard work

Jo Swinson MP has delivered the keynote address at this year's Volunteers Centre East Dunbartonshire AGM.

Jo praised East Dunbartonshire's 'culture of volunteering' in her speech at Milngavie Town Hall on Wednesday evening.

Jo commented, "Voluntary work is vital in fostering a healthy community spirit. The Volunteer Centre East Dunbartonshire is the glue that binds East Dunbartonshire's volunteering services together. Julien Crispin and the rest of the Volunteer Centre staff do a great job in coordinating voluntary activities across the area.

"The Scottish Executive now views volunteering as a significant sector of the Scottish economy. Volunteers make a highly valuable contribution to the Scottish economy, particularly in public service areas such as victim support and youth workers. The benefits of volunteering are two fold. Communities benefit from the time and expertise contributed, and volunteers generally find the experience rewarding and enjoyable."

The Volunteer Centre East Dunbartonshire is one of a national network of over 50 volunteer centres, which recruit and match volunteers to volunteering opportunities. Earlier this year, over 40 Millennium Awards were presented to young people involved in voluntary work, as part of 'Volunteer Week', which took place in early June.

Julien Crispin, Volunteer Centre Manager, commented,

"'Community' only happens when we have a sense of shared experience. the way most of us live our lives means we have very little in common with the communities we live in, but volunteering offers us a chance to share the experience of investing the our community. We could sit back and moan that things used to be so much safer, people so much nicer and our society so much more together, or we could, as so many do, volunteer some of our time to invest in our local community.

"The volunteer centre's main goals this year will be: to create local volunteer networks that will help new volunteers by linking then with more experienced peers; to develop schemes that enable local companies to do challenge events (think Anneka Rice!); to continue our youth development strategy, ensuring young people become the comunity investors into the future.

"Hearing Jo speak at our AGM, sharing her own commitment to the volunteering agenda, gives a clear indication of the political will and determination that will, in partnership with the volunteer centre's skill and commitment, ensure the community of the future will be a community of mutual benefit and a great place to be."

Related Link:

Volunteer Centre East Dunbartonshire website