Action Together Launches Volunteers’ Week Activity Fund

Local charity, Action Together is celebrating Volunteers’ Week (1 - 7 June) by launching the Volunteers’ Week Activity Fund.

Action Together is inviting voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise groups and organisations in Rochdale, Oldham and Tameside to apply for up to £500 for activities that focus on recruiting, retaining or rewarding volunteers during June 2019.

Action Together has teamed up with Rochdale Borough Council, the Action Oldham Fund in Oldham, and Tameside’s Community Wellbeing Investment Programme to release £5,000 per area for the Volunteers’ Week Activity Fund.

Volunteers’ Week, 1 – 7 June, is a time to recognise the invaluable and diverse contribution thousands of volunteers make across Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside. The Volunteers’ Week Activity Fund provides an opportunity to thank each and every one of your volunteers from trustees to campaigners and carers to fundraisers.

There are an estimated 1,180 voluntary organisations in Rochdale, who carry out 1.6 million interventions with their clients, users or beneficiaries. Most are small groups with 77% having an annual income of less than £10,000.

An 'army' of 34,300 volunteers contribute 79,800 volunteer hours a week  and the value of contribution of both volunteers and employees to Rochdale is £67.2million.

Liz Windsor-Welsh, Action Together’s Chief Executive, commented: “We are launching this fund to say thank you to the thousands of volunteers that work across Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside. We know how important the work is that volunteers do and want to encourage more people to consider giving volunteering a go. We’ve worked with our strategic partners who share our passion for celebrating volunteers from every walk of life, to create the Volunteers’ Week Activity Fund.

“Action Together is so grateful to its own volunteers too, 130 local people give their time to volunteer with us in a wide variety of roles from volunteer drivers to trustees. We know the difference this makes to our local communities but also to the lives of the people that volunteer.”

Volunteers’ Week is a great opportunity to raise the profile of volunteering and it’s a good time for groups and organisations to recruit new volunteers. What better way to help celebrate than organising an afternoon lunch for your volunteers or a recruitment event to engage new volunteers?

To find out how you can apply to Action Together’s Volunteers’ Week Activity Fund, visit:

• www.actiontogether.org.uk/volunteers-week-2019

​Application closing date for Rochdale: 12pm on Tuesday 28 May 2019
Decision date for Rochdale: 31 May 2019  

Action Together supports, advises and helps individuals, volunteers, groups and organisations in Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside. Their teams have a wealth of experience that could help strengthen your community group and grow your ideas.

If you need training, support or advice contact Action Together:
Tel: 0161 339 2345
Email: info@actiontogether.org.uk