What would life in County Sligo be like without the contribution of volunteers? Who would deliver Meals on Wheels? Who would perform in the Christmas panto? Would there be a County team to cheer for? The landscape of County Sligo would, indeed, be very different if it were not for the many hundreds of people who give their time generously in order to make our community a better place to live.

International Volunteer Day on December 5th was marked for the first time in County Sligo in 2005 with a celebration to mark the immeasurable work of local volunteers. At a special information evening in the Factory Performance Space, volunteer-involving organisations gathered to celebrate International Volunteer Day and learn of plans to establish Sligo Volunteer Bureau. This is a new and important local resource for volunteers and voluntary organisations.

The evening was organised by the Sligo Volunteer Advisory Committee which was set up in July 2005 under Sligo’s Volunteer Development Programme. This Programme, initiated under an EU Peace II Task Force Measure by the Office of Community & Enterprise, commenced with the appointment of a Volunteer Programme Development Officer in April 2005. The 14 month programme aims to develop a volunteer network for the purpose of harnessing the potential and enthusiasm for volunteering in Sligo and assisting organisations to adopt policies and best practice that will support volunteers in their work. The role of the Sligo Volunteer Advisory Committee is to advise on the direction of the Volunteer Programme and the set up of the Sligo Volunteer Bureau.

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