Over 100 representatives of voluntary organisations and community groups attended East Devon District Council’s annual ‘Working Together for the Future of East Devon’ event, held at Knowle, Sidmouth on Friday 29 September 2017.
Councillor Jill Elson, East Devon District Council’s portfolio holder for sustainable homes and communities, who is responsible for organising this occasion, said she was delighted with the high level of attendance from voluntary organisations, community groups and town and parish councils who turned out in force to support this free event. The event broadly...
They look like ordinary people - different ages, backgrounds and interests.
What binds them together is that each is an Exeter Mid and East Devon Samaritan volunteer and remarkably they have served a combined 81 years.
Most of the six, who were presented with long service awards at the AGM of the charity’s Exeter branch this week, serve as listeners who respond to the thousands of telephone calls, emails, text messages received by the branch each year.
But most have other roles - some are involved with training new volunteers, one handles IT for the charity’s...
Do you want to gain valuable experience volunteering at one of Dartmoor National Park’s award winning Visitor Centres?
Enthusiastic people are sought to become Ambassadors for Dartmoor and help visitors to the National Park discover what makes this place so special.
As a Dartmoor Ambassador you will be based primarily at one of the three National Park Visitor Centres this summer, welcoming and directing visitors as they arrive at the Centres and being on hand to ensure that our visitors have all the information they need to make the most out of their visit.
Five Devon volunteer groups have received the Royal seal of approval and honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2017.
The award, the highest given each year to volunteer groups, sets the benchmark for excellence in volunteering and is equivalent in status to the MBE.
It recognises and celebrates outstanding achievement by groups of volunteers who regularly devote their time to helping and providing opportunity for others in the community and improving the quality of life.
Volunteers’ Week started on 1st June 2017. The annual event celebrates the fantastic contribution that millions of volunteers make across the UK. It is an opportunity for organisations to publicly recognise the work of their volunteers.
Leading local charity, Citizens Advice Exeter is saying a “big thank you” to their 100 volunteers. The contribution of the charity’s volunteers was recognised last year when they received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.
At a time of continuing job insecurity and financial pressures, the invaluable contribution made by volunteers is...
A national charity is appealing for volunteers to come forward and help the blind people it supports in the Exeter and Plymouth areas.
British Wireless for the Blind Fund (BWBF) provides specially adapted audio equipment to visually impaired people across the UK.
The charity is looking for radio support volunteers, whose role would be to visit people with sight loss in their homes throughout Exeter and Plymouth, install their new radio and teach them how to use it as well as provide on-going support where needed.
The role involves a small amount of admin and there...
The phrase ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ could not be further from the truth for a group of dedicated National Trust volunteers who have spent 5,200 hours sewing life into old chairs. The group, from Killerton House, has been sewing individual tapestries into 16 chairs since January last year and are coming to the end of the momentous project just as Killerton celebrates National Volunteers Week. This year, the House has been reinterpreted to tell the story of how the Acland family gave away their home for the benefit of the nation and the volunteers have carried the thread of the story by...
More than 100 volunteers filled a skip full of rubbish collected from the internationally important Exmouth Local Nature Reserve on Saturday 13 May.
And this year there was a notable reduction in the amount of litter found on the Exe Estuary when compared with previous clean-ups.
Organised by the Exe Estuary Management Partnership, which includes local authorities like Devon County Council, Exeter City Council and Teignbridge and East Devon District Councils, the clean-up ensures that the area is ready for summer visitors and wildlife.
A new eye clinic for homeless people has opened in Exeter.
The clinic, which is led by a team of volunteers, is located at Clock Tower Surgery in Wat Tyler House which brings together some 25 services for homeless and vulnerable people.
Set up by the charity, Vision Care for Homeless People, it has been made possible by support from the Local Optical Committee, a team of volunteer optometrists, donations from Specsavers and Bills Opticians which will provide the glazing of spectacles. It joins a small group of similar clinics in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Brighton...