Wellington’s volunteers and voluntary organisations – both those already up and running and those still on the drawing board – can access specialist support and advice from experts at one of three – free – monthly meetings in the town’s library in January, February and March.
Engage, the charity which has worked with voluntary organisations and individuals in West Somerset for 16 years and in Taunton Deane for more than a year, is holding a series of meetings to support and encourage volunteering in the town. Engage works with Taunton Deane Borough Council to provide advice on funding applications, help with business and financial planning, legal advice and guidance and sets up mutually beneficial contacts between organisations.
The charity is currently based in Taunton Library but is now looking to set up an advice centre in Wellington for community groups. Engage Development Worker Sandra Marsden said, “We thought it would be beneficial to residents if we tried to run the centre in a different location as well – and Wellington seemed an ideal place to do this. I’ve been talking with groups who want to develop volunteering in Wellington and they’ve been able to advertise what we do to local community groups. We do more than just run the Volunteer Centre. We support community groups with a variety of issues from how to set up as a charity to helping them to find funding.”
Engage’s Volunteer Centre will be open in Wellington Library on Wednesday 20 January, 17 February and 16 March from 1pm to 4pm. Appointments can be made via tauntonvolunteers@engagews.org.uk or on 079581 32882 but any member of the public looking to volunteer can simply turn up at one of the meetings to get information.