Pushing the Political Agenda for Volunteering in Sheffield

What does the future hold for volunteering?  With an election just weeks away and the likelihood of 'deep cuts' in public spending looming, I think anyone could be forgiven for feeling uncertain.  Volunteering has never been higher on the political agenda than it has been over recent years, but as local and national government looks for cost-saving opportunities, we need to make sure that the vital contribution made by volunteers is recognised and understood by all.  

Thankfully, Sheffield City Council is supporting continued funding for the implementation of the Sheffield Volunteering Strategy until the end of March 2011.  Still more work needs to be done however to convince all of our MPs and Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) of the value of volunteering.  To that end, Volunteering England have launched a Volunteering Manifesto and Pledge, calling on all MPs and PPCs to sign up to:  "work hard to support volunteers and organisations that involve volunteers, both in my constituency and across the country... by:

• Recognising the value of volunteering in building a strong society
• Promoting positive messages about volunteering
• Encouraging more people to give their time by helping free volunteers from red-tape
• Supporting the organisations who support volunteers.

Already, some influential local MPs have signed up, namely Angela Smith, Nick Clegg, and David Blunkett.  I have also written to all the others encouraging them to do so.  As a result, two PPCs (Nicola Bates for the Conservatives in Sheffield Hallam, and Paul Blomfield for Labour in Sheffield Central) will be meeting local volunteers after the 'Question Time: Meet the Candidates' event at Voluntary Action Sheffield this Tuesday afternoon (30th March), to find out more about what Sheffield volunteers do to help local people and why their work is important.

If any other Sheffield volunteers are interested in coming along to speak to Nicola and Paul, their contributions would be most welcome - please get in touch with me beforehand at 0114 2536638 / c.walsh@vas.org.uk

For more information on the Volunteering Pledge, see http://www.volunteering.org.uk/WhatWeDo/Policy/Volunteering+Manifesto

[Places are still available to come to the Question Time event itself too, free of charge: http://www.vas.org.uk/documents/voluntary-community-sector/election_question_time]