A couple of weeks ago, I came across an interesting blog post entitled Stuart Etherington’s New Year Letter to the Sector which gave his thoughts, as NCVO Chief Executive, on the potential challenges for the voluntary sector in 2017 and beyond.
In the blog, Sir Stuart asks us to think about what we can do to help bolster, re-invigorate and better manage volunteering as a whole across the UK, an issue that needs addressing more than ever in the present climate. As a member of the Volunteer Centre Manchester team, I have been really busy over the last year as we supported over 3000 people to identify and take part in volunteering opportunities. We would be happy to support even more volunteers in 2017.
Sir Stuart also argues that volunteering is important for the individuals involved but also for organisations, communities and society as a whole. He also mentions the important role that the voluntary sector has in managing volunteers and supporting people to find opportunities. We will continue to do this at Volunteer Centre Manchester and we’re sure that volunteering will be a topic discussed at Future Trends, the next Manchester Voluntary Sector Assembly event later this month.
For us to bring about change in these difficult times requires forward thinking, discussion and action. The Manchester Voluntary Sector Assembly (VSA) is a network of voluntary, community and faith groups, and social enterprises that come together for half a day, four times a year.
Its purpose is to:
• To strengthen the voice of the voluntary and community sector so we can support individuals and communities to have a real influence over where they live
• Improve communication across the sector to work together, and share ideas and best practice
• Increase the influence of the sector on strategic and policy decisions that affect individuals and communities
• Provide opportunities for the sector to learn, discuss key issues, and to develop shared ideas and collective actions
• Support collaboration between groups to deliver a wide range of activities and services in Manchester
The next Voluntary Sector Assembly event, ‘Future Trends’ takes place on Tuesday 28th February at 1pm – 4.30 pm at Halle St Peters, 40 Blossom Street, Manchester, M4 6BF.
For more information and to book your place, please visit: https://www.manchestercommunitycentral.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id...
We’d really value your input and would love to see you there.