Mark Lazarowicz praises volunteers

Mark Lazarowicz MP has expressed support for volunteers working in Edinburgh North and Leith as part of this year’s Volunteers’ Week. 

Volunteers’ Week is a UK-wide week to celebrate the work of millions of volunteers who give up their time to help others. You can find out more about UK Volunteers week at http://volunteersweek.org/

Mark said: “Volunteers are crucial to so many organisations in our community. Their work helps make our society a better place, and volunteers themselves also benefit tremendously from the experience – learning new skills, getting back into paid work, improving physical or mental well-being, or simply meeting interesting people and having fun.

“A good example of the importance of volunteers will be seen over the next weekend during the Leith Festival. On Leith Gala Day in particular, on Leith Links from 11 am on Saturday (8 June), hundreds of local volunteers will be showing the work of their organisation to the local community – publicising their work, raising funds, recruiting more volunteers, and generally meeting the public.”

The most popular fields for regular volunteers are sports and exercise; hobbies, recreation, arts and social clubs and religion.

During Volunteers’ Week organisations will be taking the opportunity to recognise the contribution of their volunteers through holding awards ceremonies, recruitment fairs, celebration events, training opportunities and volunteer taster sessions.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of many organisations, and work in communities in organisations such as sports clubs, community groups and museums, as well as public sector bodies, schools and hospitals.

Muirhouse Millennium Centre’s Cathy Ahmed and North Edinburgh TimeBank were among the volunteers recognised at a City Chambers reception hosted by Lord Provost Cllr Donald Wilson last night. Congratulations to you all!