2010 is the Leeds Year of Volunteering - a celebration of the amazing work already happening in our city and an opportunity to promote volunteering and encourage more people to get involved. It is an initiative supported by Leeds City Council and partners, and by the voluntary, community and faith sectors. 

The aims of the Year of Volunteering are to:

• Increase the level of volunteering in the city
• Celebrate and promote volunteering
• Increase community engagement through volunteering
• Help groups attract more volunteers and provide more volunteering opportunities
• Promote higher quality volunteering

Volunteering has many benefits for individuals, communities and organisations. People who volunteer gain confidence, learn new skills and develop a real sense of belonging to their communities whilst helping to improve the quality of life for local people. Organisations benefit from the skills, enthusiasm and time of a diverse volunteer workforce. It helps unlock the talent and creativity of individuals to lead activities, groups and communities and to build skills, confidence and independence that may also be transferable into a work environment. Volunteering is also a way to help people to develop a sense of belonging to their neighbourhood and community.

Volunteering activity plays a key role in developing good community relations through wider engagement and participation. Volunteering brings many added benefits to organisations and services to citizens. For example, Council services have many hundreds of volunteers involved in a wide range of activities such as school governors, working with young people as mentors in schools and in the youth service, working on environmental projects with Parks and Countryside; archiving in the Museums and Galleries, helping out at Leeds International Film Festival and other major public events, providing a Books at Home service through Libraries and supporting people to lead independent lives through Adult Social Care.

Volunteering is vital to the future of our city. Volunteering helps us connect with friends, neighbours and communities. There is also a considerable economic benefit - the annual value of volunteering in Leeds has been estimated to be worth £39.5 million. Leeds City Council are working in partnership with Voluntary Action Leeds, Leeds Voice and the Leeds Community Foundation to make sure that we have a sustainable increase in this level of volunteering beyond 2010.

During the year you will be able to join in one of the many city-wide or local events, get involved with one of the monthly “themes” that will celebrate volunteers who do different types of volunteering, or apply for funding from the new grants scheme for small volunteer organisations. There will also be a celebratory volunteer awards programme in December.

The Year of Volunteering was launched with an event at Leeds City Museum on 13th January 2010, attended by over 450 people. The new Volunteer Centre Leeds is now open - you can  visit it at Enterprise House, 12 St Paul's Street, Leeds LS12LE, or phone 0113 395 0405. The website www.leedsyearofvolunteering.org.uk will provide you with updated information about the year.