The Citizens Advice service helps people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing free, independent and confidential advice, and by influencing policymakers.
Every Citizens Advice Bureau is a registered charity reliant on trained volunteers and funds to provide these vital services for local communities.
Citizens Advice Needs You! |
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03-06-2008 Volunteers are the heart of the Citizens Advice service and for Volunteers Week (1-7 June 2008) Citizens Advice - the local charity which helps people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing free information and advice - is calling on people of all ages and backgrounds to volunteer with them. Many people are not aware that most people working in Citizens Advice Bureaux are, in fact, volunteers. In the last year over 20 thousand volunteers gave the Citizens Advice service a massive 121,743 hours a week of their time, ensuring that, on average, 5.5 million problems are dealt with a year. Everyone from young school leavers, to retired CEOs, to back to work mums are encouraged to get in touch with their local Citizens Advice Bureau if they are interested in volunteering. Volunteers are needed for a variety of roles: to train as advisers, work as receptionists, to help out with marketing, finance and campaigning - right through to sitting on the trustee board. The benefits of volunteering are vast and include the opportunity to acquire new skills alongside giving something back to the community. Volunteering with CAB could you get your first job after school, help you return to work confidently after an absence, or fill your day once retired. It’s also great for your health - over 60% of volunteers in a recent survey said it made them less stressed. (2004, ICM Research findings commissioned for CSV (Community Service Volunteers) and Barclays.) Plus, if you train as an adviser you could gain an NVQ level qualification. Howard Batley is a volunteer adviser with Bath CAB. He volunteered after retiring from work following a diagnosis of MS and soon became an invaluable member of the team. He says:
Beth Taylor, volunteer specialist at Citizens Advice says:
Over 28 million people* are involved in volunteering in the UK every year and Volunteers Week is an opportunity for organisations to publicly recognise the work of their volunteers. It also aims to raise the awareness of the benefits of giving time, inspiring a new generation of volunteers. Volunteers’ Week is co-ordinated in England by Volunteering England. Notes to editors on Citizens Advice
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