Millennium Volunteers in Wales, the programme that supports young volunteers, will officially become a part of the GwirVol initiative.
The move to integrate Millennium Volunteers into GwirVol was initially motivated by funding cuts from the funders of both programmes, but the integration of two programmes with similar beliefs and aims is welcomed by both Millennium Volunteers and the GwirVol partnership.
Launched in 1998, Millennium Volunteers is part of a UK-wide programme supporting young people in making a commitment to volunteer in their communities for 200 hours.
Millennium Volunteers encourages 16-25 year olds to build on existing skills and interests and to gain new experiences by giving their time to volunteering activities. Their efforts are recognised through certificates awarded following 50 and 100 hours of volunteering, and an Award of Excellence, signed by the First Minister of the Welsh Assembly Government, after 200hours.
GwirVol developed from the Russell Commission recommendations published in May 2005, and is seeking to increase the number and diversity of young people volunteering in Wales, as well as the number and quality of volunteering opportunities. The Initiative is managed by a partnership of organisations in Wales from across the private, public and voluntary sectors.
GwirVol has worked closely with Millennium Volunteers since the initiative began in 2005, explained Tim Day, Chair of the GwirVol initiative and Director of Volunteering and Policy for WCVA. Millennium Volunteers shares the same values as GwirVol and offers a wonderful opportunity for young people to gain recognition for their volunteering.
GwirVol recognises the fantastic work Millennium Volunteers does with young people across Wales and wants to support the programme and help it continue.
David Heald, Millennium Volunteers Co-ordinator, said: Millenium Volunteers will continue in very much the same way as before. The main change will be with the grant programme, which will now run alongside the GwirVol grants and have two rounds per year.
The integration has given Millenium Volunteers the opportunity to explore new developments for the award and we are looking forward to announcing these in the near future.
GwirVol grant information, including details on becoming a part of the Millennium Volunteers programme, are available on the GwirVol website – http://www.gwirvol.org/- along with information for young people about how they can volunteer.
Since its launch in 1998, Millennium Volunteers has supported over 14,500 young people in giving 1,500,000 hours of their time to volunteer. Since GwirVol began in 2005, over 6,000 young people have been recruited as volunteers and around 2,000 volunteering opportunities are created every year.
With such positive outcomes to date from each of the separate programmes, we are really looking forward to what we can achieve together, concluded Tim Day.
For more information please contact Lynne Reynolds on 029 2043 1718 or David Heald on 029 2043 1728. WCVA website www.wcva.org.uk
Notes
GwirVol and Millennium Volunteers are managed by Wales Council for Voluntary Action, charity number 218093, company number 425299, registered office Baltic House, Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff CF10 5FH July 2010
Information on the next round of grants is available from GwirVol, on 029 2043 1763, or e-mail gwirvol@wcva.org.uk
WCVA is the voice of the voluntary sector in Wales, with more than 3,000 members including a wide range of organisations working on issues such as housing, economic regeneration, childcare, community development, transport, the environment and health.
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