What’s Happening in the Third Sector?

Volunteers’ Week is Here

How are you celebrating Volunteers’ Week’s 40th anniversary?

It’s been great to see so many stories and events from all forms of volunteering being shared across social media already.

We’re helping the team at Volunteers’ Week encourage as many people to get involved, so if you’re yet to share your celebrations and thanks, please tag @VolunteersWeek on Facebook, @Volunteers_Week on Instagram, and use #VolunteersWeek across all your social channels so we can all spread our gratitude far and wide.

There are loads of free resources available to download now if you’re yet to do so – including some wonderful certificates to hand out to your volunteers to say thank you.


General Election 2024

Voluntary Sector Manifesto

NCVO have developed a set of resources for charitable organisations in the UK to help prepare for the upcoming election. The election will be taking place on the 4th of July – around 4 weeks away.

See more here.

Charities react to Conservative Party’s volunteering ‘national service’ proposal

Did you see the Tories’ proposal to create a mandatory ‘National Service’ for young people in the UK if they retain power in July? The idea is that 18-year-olds would be forced to take part in ‘volunteering’ or military service.

The proposal has understandably raised concerns, but what does it mean for the third sector?

Sarah Vibert, NCVO Chief Executive, noted that it would have been more beneficial for the Conservative party to discuss this proposal with voluntary organisations before announcing it. Vibert went on to say that while giving young people easier access to volunteering, forcing them into it could have a negative impact.

Volunteer Scotland have also released a statement, highlighting that making it mandatory means that it could not be considered volunteering.

Of course, this scheme may never come to light. It all depends on the 2024 election results…

Read the full piece here.


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