June 6, 2018

Volunteers’ Week 1-7 June is an annual event and celebrates the fantastic contribution that millions of volunteers make across the UK. The week plays a huge part in raising the profile of the millions of volunteers who regularly contribute to society while inspiring others to get involved too.

Cumbria CVS is running Volunteering Fairs across Cumbria during Volunteers’ Week to help local organisations recruit new volunteers. Please see the above details for our Volunteer Fairs during this week.

What are your Volunteers’ Week plans?

NCVO have provided information, guidance and resources to help you start planning and make your own Volunteers’ Week a success. They have a resource pack full of ideas and tips for making the most of Volunteers’ Week to either recognise or recruit volunteers. You can sign up for their Volunteers’ Week mailing list by visiting their website HERE

Thank your volunteers!

Happy Volunteers Week to all the fantastic volunteers in Cumbria and a big thank you to all the amazing volunteer managers who manage and support volunteers throughout the year.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service

Get your nominations in for The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, which is the highest award given to volunteer groups across the UK. Any group of two or more people doing volunteering work can be nominated for the award. The majority of the group must be volunteers, and more than half the volunteers must have the right to live in the UK.

To be nominated they should do work that:

• provides a service and meets a need for people living in the local community
• is supported, recognised and respected by the local community and the people who benefit from it
• is run locally

Volunteer groups should have been running for three years or more to be nominated.

Winners get a certificate signed by the Queen and a domed glass crystal. Representatives from the group may also be invited to attend a royal garden party.

When you nominate a group you also need letters from two people who support your nomination and are independent of the group you’re nominating – for example:

• someone who benefits from the group’s work
• someone who’s aware of the group’s work

The letters must include:

• how the group helps the local community
• how you know the group

Submit your nomination by 14 September 2018 to make sure your group is considered for the 2019 awards. For more information visit the main website HERE

Three outstanding voluntary groups receive a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
It has recently been announced, Dalton Community Association Drill Hall, Manna House and the Volunteer Prescription Delivery Service have been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK – the MBE for volunteer groups.

You can read more about the nominees on the Your Cumbria News.