Volunteering

Volunteering activity is the bedrock of the VCS and this is a time for dramatic change for volunteering as it is given a more prominent role in the Big Society agenda.

The Citizenship Survey shows that 41% of the UK population volunteer formally once a year. It is estimated that an even larger number of people volunteer informally, by giving unpaid help to people who are not relatives (outside any formal setting).

Based on a survey of volunteering across the East Midlands carried out in September 2010, around 15,000 people have been supported into formal volunteering roles in the last year with more than 20,000 volunteering opportunities still available.

One East Midlands supports the England Volunteering Council (EVDC) in the region, which aims to capture the intelligence of a broad range of organisations in the region and act as a powerful lobby to steer government policy.