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Volunteers Week |
vProject Open day |
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1-7th June 2008
Volunteers' Week (1-7th June) is the UK's annual celebration of the work volunteers do. During the Week events are held across the country to recognise, reward and recruit volunteers.
Every Citizens Advice Bureau is a registered charity and more than 20,000 of the people involved in the service are trained volunteers, helping people to resolve nearly 5.5 million new problems a year accross England and Wales. Volunteers account for 76% of staff in Citizens Advice Bureaux.
MCAB has opportunities for people to train as volunteer advisers, trustees, administrators, social policy campaigners, fundraisers and more. With so many different roles available you should be able to find a way to get involved.
To find out more about volunteering click here.
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6th June 2008
Merton Citizens Advice Bureau is holding an open day/taster session for young people to see what volunteering in a CAB is actually like.
Merton Citizens Advice Bureau is funded by v. v is an independent charity launched in May 2006 to champion youth volunteering in England, for young people aged 16–25.
Volunteering for your local CAB gives you the chance to try out new opportunities and develop skills which will help you with college and university courses and in gaining employment. Your volunteering will look very positive on a CV and many of our young volunteers have gone on to get good paid work.
To find out more about becoming a v volunteer, or to apply, please contact Ruth woods, the v Project Co-ordinator on ruth.woods@citizensadvice.org.uk or phone 07726 901 150.
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19th May 2008
The walk is organised by the London Legal Support Trust to raise funds for legal advice agencies throughout London. All funds, including Gift Aid, received by the Trust through their events will be donated to legal advice charities.
Merton Citizens Advice Bureau is again taking part to expand Merton CAB's free legal services. The need for these services is huge, and growing, which is why we need all the support we can get to provide them.
Last year 1,800 walkers from City law firms, chambers, law schools, government and in-house legal departments and the judiciary joined together to raise over £200,000 for London’s legal advice charities.
For more information about the Trust, see their website London Legal Support Trust.
To sponsor us, please go to our Justgiving fundraising page.
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Merton Citizens Advice Bureau is calling for new volunteers who want to find out how Advice Changes Lives. This is the theme for Advice Week 2007 and as part of a week-long national campaign when we are encouraging people to find out how their own lives can be changed as well as changing other peoples' lives.
Merton CAB is very active providing vital advice and information in the London borough of Merton and Lambeth. Last year, advice was given on over 22,000 issues.
20,000 people already volunteer for the Citizens Advice service in England and Wales and applications from people from all backgrounds and ages are welcome, whether you’ve just left school or college and are not sure what to do next, you're a parent returning to work, unemployed, or in between jobs or retiring.
Volunteering can be immensely rewarding and there are many opportunities available, ranging from providing administrative end ICT support, campaigning, marketing, researching and trustee roles, along with advising clients. Nearly one third of the volunteers who leave the service go on to full-time education or employment, and volunteers do not lose their job seekers allowance while volunteering. Many volunteers have found a career with bureaux as paid workers.
Fosuah Poku, Chief Executive, says:
“Volunteering with the CAB is not your average volunteer experience. We have staff who will train and support new volunteers in how to affect change – whether in a client’s life or in spreading the word in local schools or in making sure the media know what the CAB service really does. It can be a simple as telling people what their consumer rights are, to finding housing for a single parent in a crisis. Advice giving is an essential part of community life.”
Steve Starling, Volunteer who is now in paid employment with Merton CAB, says:
“It sounds like an exaggeration, but working in my local bureau has changed my life. I never thought I would be able to actually help people as much as I do. I started out as a volunteer helping with reception duties and giving ICT support, and now I am doing a paid member of staff support and training new volunteers! I have learnt a lot and it has really boosted my confidence and helped me change people’s lives. I am very proud to be part of such a great charity.”
During Advice Week Merton CAB is organising information stalls in community locations. If you are interested in finding out more about voluntary work with the CAB please visit us on any of the dates below:
The Open Afternoon will be an opportunity for young people between the ages of 16 -25 to find out more about full-time volunteering opportunities with the CAB including the chance to gain AQA accreditation for aspects of their training and learning.
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Maryan Ahmed, a Lambeth volunteer who helps the Somali community sort out their practical problems, has won the 2006 Citizens Advice volunteer of the year.
Maryan has been volunteering at the Lambeth bureau for three years. Her work running an advice project for one of the countries largest Somali communities, has been nationally recognised. Maryan single-handedly set up the Somali advice project, which has now dealt with almost 4,000 cases. Advising at least 25 clients each week on benefits, housing, immigration, debt, family, domestic violence, and education matters.
Merton & Lambeth Chief Executive Fosuah Poku said:
"Maryan’s impact on the bureau cannot be exaggerated. In a borough containing one of the largest Somali populations in the UK, many of whom are not English speakers, Maryan’s project is a vital, dependable lifeline to thousands. Without her work many people would suffer through not knowing their rights and not being able to express their needs clearly. She represents the very best of the CAB"
The award was presented by HRH The Princess Royal, parton of Citizens Advice, at the annual conference in York.
Citizens Advice Chief Executive David Harker said:
“All our volunteers are amazing individuals who give up their time to make a contribution to the local community. “But those who have picked up these awards have shown an extra special commitment. The Volunteer of the Year Awards gives the whole Citizens Advice service a chance to celebrate their success.”
For more information about volunteering call 020 8288 0447, or see our volunteering page.
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Volunteers are at the heart of the Citizens Advice service and, to celebrate Volunteers’ Week 2006 (1st-7th June), Lambeth and Merton CAB are calling for more local people from diverse backgrounds to sign up and volunteer at their local bureaux; based at Morden, Mitcham and Streatham Hill.
Over 28 million people1 are involved in volunteering in the UK every year and Volunteers’ Week is an opportunity for organisations to publicly recognise the work of their volunteers. It also aims to raise the awareness of the benefits of giving time, inspiring a new generation of volunteers. Volunteers’ Week is co-ordinated in England by Volunteering England.
This year’s theme is diversity; there are almost as many different types of people volunteering, as there are opportunities to volunteer. Diversity means not herding people into quotas, but valuing difference. We are going beyond the stereotypical volunteer to recognise that older people, disabled people and young people are just as likely to be found helping in the local community.
The Citizens Advice service is a network of independent charities that helps people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. The national network of Citizens Advice Bureaux relies on over 21,000 volunteers who fulfil a range of roles. Some are trained advisers, some fulfil vital administrative roles, like reception work, IT support or PR and fundraising activities. Others serve on bureau trustee boards or do social policy campaigning work.
Lambeth and Merton CAB Chief Executive Ms Fosuah Poku said:
“Citizens Advice Bureaux volunteers perform a vital role at the heart of their communities, helping people at times when they most need support and advice
“Many volunteer because they feel very strongly that they want to contribute and put something back into their communities. We want them all to know how much we value them - they are the backbone of the communities they serve. We have a huge amount to thank them for
“We are now calling for more volunteers from a range of diverse backgrounds with different skills and abilities to volunteer at Lambeth CABx. If the Citizens Advice service is to meet the diverse needs of the local communities we need volunteers who reflect the people who live and work in our community. Our volunteers not only have a crucial role to play in the service we provide for the community today but are also crucial to how we develop the service we provide for tomorrow. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact the bureau for an application pack”
For more information and a volunteer application pack call 020 8288 0447.
1 http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/citizensurvey.html
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Volunteers and staff from Lambeth and Merton Citizens Advice Bureau took part in a Mass Lobby at Parliament last week to bring to the attention of their MP the growing crisis in civil legal aid.
Volunteers and staff from Lambeth and Merton Citizens Advice Bureau took part in a Mass Lobby at Parliament last week to bring to the attention of their MP the growing crisis in civil legal aid. They were taking part in a mass lobby of Parliament organised by the Access to Justice Alliance, which includes Citizens Advice, Shelter, Justice, Law Centres Association, Legal Aid Practitioners Group and many others.
Participants travelled along with staff and volunteers from other Citizens Advice Bureau to the Houses of Parliament. The majority of participants were able to meet with their MPs and raise their concerns about lack of access to legally aided services.
CAB Chief Executive Ms Fosuah Poku commented,
“We were encouraged by the response from our local MPs. Access to legal aid is such an important issue for so many of our clients and we are concerned that people may find that there is no access to legal aid at all in their local community.”
Bureaux prepared briefings for their MP based on the experiences of their clients. Many bureaux were asked for further meetings and information on how constituents were being affected. The day culminated in a public meeting in Portcullis House with speakers Vera Baird MP, the Minister for Legal Aid, Simon Hughes MP, Oliver Heald MP and Steve Hynes from the Law Centres Federation. The Minister had the opportunity to hear the concerns of a wide range of practitioners about the decreasing number of firms taking up legal aid contracts.
The Access to Justice Alliance have highlighted that legal aid spending on debt, housing, family and employment problems has declined by 22 per cent, that bureaucracy has caused a mass exodus of lawyers and advisers from providing legal aid, and that the most vulnerable and most socially excluded people are unable to access their rights as result. The cost to the economy of unresolved personal legal problems is as much as £13 million, and research has demonstrated that a third the population have unresolved legal problems at any one time.
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John Cann and Steve Starling are joint winners of the Citizens Advice National Volunteer of the Year Award 2005 in the team work category.
In her letter of congratulations, Hilary Watkins Chair of Citizens Advice said ‘This is a truly outstanding achievement as there was a field of exceptional candidates.’
John and Steve have volunteered with MCAB for more than 1 year. Working as part of the ICT team across 3 sites in Merton and Lambeth they update our website, maintain and update our internal intranet, provide technical assistance with computer maintenance as well as support and training to over 100 users enabling them to develop and use ICT skills within the service.
John and Steve travelled to the Citizens Advice annual conference in September where they received their winner’s certificate during the opening plenary session.
In addition Merton CAB received £500 which will be used to celebrate and promote the achievements and contribution of all our volunteers.
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