People looking for a great start to the New Year need look no further. If meeting new people, seeking new challenges, learning a new skill or helping the local community, was one of your New Year’s resolutions, the University of Bristol can help. The University is hosting the city’s third Annual Volunteer Recruitment Fair on Thursday, 2 February 2006. The fair, organised by the University’s Community Engagement Team, Students’ Union, and The Big Issue SouthWest will give members of the public the chance to find out about the wealth of volunteering opportunities available in the region.
Dr Stella Clarke, Pro-Chancellor of Bristol University and the Lord Mayor of Bristol, Councillor Peter Abraham, will open the Fair alongside the Managing Director of the Big Issue, Jeff Mitchell and Dr Stephen Hill, the University of Bristol, Director for Flexible Learning and Community Engagement.
The free event is open to everyone and will take place from 12 noon to 6 pm in the Great Hall, Wills Memorial Building, Queen’s Road. Organisers promise there will be no ‘hard sell’ – just plenty of interesting information.
With over 50 stalls at the event, there will be something for everyone. Well-known organisations taking part include Save the Children, who work in developing countries, and Cancer Research UK, who provide funding for research into the causes and treatment of cancer. Less widely recognised groups such as Bristol City Council School Governor Support Service and Child Time, which provides counselling services to children and their families, will also have stalls.
The University is committed to supporting the city’s social infrastructure by allowing one paid day’s leave per year for each of the University’s 5,500 members of staff to undertake voluntary work. In addition, over 800 students are involved in volunteering through both Student Community Action (SCA) and RAG (Raising and Giving). In 2004 SCA provided over 90,000 volunteering hours into the local social economy. Research has shown that over 25 per cent of University staff volunteer on a regular basis.
Kim Fitzgerald, the University’s Outreach Development Manager, said: “The success of previous events speaks for itself. Not only do organisations recruit new volunteers through the event but also the quality of volunteers, in term of skills and commitment, is of a high standard. We welcome everyone to come along and view the work of over 50 local organisations. There is something for everyone.”