Office of the Third Sector Homepage
Last updated: 30 November 2008
Volunteers' Week 2008 (2 – 7 June) starts today and government ministers and civil servants ministers will be joining thousands of people who give their time and energy to benefit others. Throughout Volunteers' Week the Government will be taking part in celebrating the huge contribution that volunteers make to our society.
Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, started spreading the word as he prepared sandwiches at a drop-in centre. The service, run by MIND in Newark, Nottinghamshire, provides support for those with mental health problems. During the minister’s visit on Thursday 29 May the charity offered advice on healthy eating and dealing with anxiety. It is one of many organisations across the country which benefit from the extra manpower and the profile boost Volunteers’ Week creates.
Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, said:
“I can’t speak highly enough of the work that Newark Mind are doing and the achievements of their volunteers. It’s all too easy for people suffering from mental illness to become isolated and cut off from their community, these people stop that happening. I want to give more people the opportunity to volunteer in all sorts of ways. I had a great time lending a hand and got a lot out of it myself."
As part of Volunteers’ Week, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the home civil service, Sir Gus O’Donnell will help out at a cycling project in Havering, London. The group works with the NHS’s North East London Mental Health Trust to help their patients enjoy cycling, building their fitness and social skills. Sir Gus will offer support to those unsteady on two wheels as he joins them in a ride around the Thames Chase Nature Reserve on Wednesday 4 June.
Phil Hope will also be volunteering at Winton Primary School in King’s Cross, helping to teach maths in an after school scheme which aims to encourage pupils to learn maths by linking the course with football.
These volunteering opportunities are among a host of activities to be attended by ministers and other representatives of the government in the next few days to help raise the profile of Volunteers’ Week and support the 60th anniversary of the NHS this year.
Nationally, some 73 per cent of all adults volunteered in the last 12 months. The Government is committed to supporting more people in high quality volunteering opportunities and has invested £117million in the youth volunteering charity ‘v’ and £12million into the ‘Goldstar’ and ‘Volunteering for All’ programmes which encourage people who are less likely to volunteer. The Prime Minister and Sir Gus O’Donnell have also called for a civil service wide group to make recommendations on how to foster and promote volunteering amongst civil servants. This group will meet for the first time during Volunteers’ Week to consider how the civil service can become a beacon of best practice in employee volunteering.
To find out more about the Volunteers’ Week events, which are coordinated by Volunteering England, visit: