Who wants to be a Volunteer?

"I applaud the good work that volunteers do on a regular basis. It never ceases to amaze me how charitable people can be. Although a large proportion of people locally do volunteer the fact is that at least 70% of people do very little to contribute to their community and this initiative is about making people more aware of the opportunities for volunteering."

The success of our communities is reliant on the good will and generosity of local people. More than 20,000 people Volunteer in Surrey alone and in doing so they support all walks of our society. To be more specific, in Surrey, 3,000 charities and thousands of voluntary groups including sports clubs, faith and educational groups function efficiently due to the help and support of local volunteers.

Volunteering can be defined as "giving unpaid help to benefit other people or the environment". Many people do help out considerably either by coaching a football team on a Saturday morning or taking part in the church rota but they do not consider themselves to be a volunteer, they are indeed a volunteer in its truest sense.

The scope of volunteering opportunities is huge and there is without doubt something to suit everyone interested in contributing to their local community and its surroundings.

Surrey is serious about increasing the number of volunteers and in doing so building stronger safer communities in which to live. There are 15 volunteer centres throughout the county which work with voluntary organisations and charities to find out where volunteers are needed. A volunteer centre can help individuals to find suitable opportunities to volunteer. Alternatively there is a national database of volunteering opportunities www.do-it.org.uk.