Minister Joe O’Brien opens Offaly Volunteer Centre

Official opening 4th March 2022

Mr. Joe O’Brien TD, Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development and Charities, today (Friday, 4 March 2022) officially opened the Offaly Volunteer Centre.

Volunteer Centres are supported by the Department of Rural and Community Development to provide a placement service between individuals and groups who want to volunteer, and organisations that are seeking to involve volunteers. They also provide advice, training, Garda vetting, and supports to volunteer organisations.

Opening the new Volunteer Centre, Minister O’Brien said:

“I spent yesterday afternoon getting a whistle-stop tour of some fantastic local community groups across Offaly and I have seen first-hand the vibrancy of the County’s community & voluntary sector. As we begin to emerge from the pandemic we must support and reward the selflessness that became such a feature of how Ireland responded to the pandemic and the enthusiasm of those who came forward to volunteer themselves to help in any way they could.”

The vision of the National Volunteering Strategy is of a society where volunteering is promoted, valued, facilitated and supported so that people can contribute to developing and maintaining vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities. The Strategy aims to promote stronger structures for volunteers and organisations, greater awareness of volunteering through increased visibility and recognition, and greater diversity in volunteering opportunities and volunteers themselves. Implementation of the strategy is well underway; the opening of Offaly Volunteer Centre is a part of that progress.

Speaking at the event Minister O’Brien said:

“Volunteering makes a huge contribution to our quality of life, and to the health of our volunteers and our communities. There are more people volunteering now than ever before, people who make a real difference in so many ways in our communities. I know that the already vibrant cohort of volunteers and volunteer involving organisations in Offaly will be further strengthened by this Centre and its services.”

Deirdre Fox, Manager at Offaly Volunteer Centre said:

“It is a tremendous day for volunteering here in Offaly. I would like to acknowledge the Board, the volunteer centre staff and the volunteers who have worked so hard in helping us open our doors today. We are delighted to be going from virtually to reality. Spring is in the air and the Offaly Volunteer Centre is now on the map.”

Funding provided by the Department of Rural and Community Development to Volunteer Centres is designed to reinforce and foster volunteering in Ireland. The strengthening of volunteering infrastructure across Ireland provides invaluable support to volunteers and volunteering activity in our communities, in line with the National Volunteer Strategy. Solid infrastructure combined with strong volunteer management can help ensure that volunteer efforts are maximised across communities in Ireland.

Concluding, Minister O’Brien said:

“I would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank the Board and staff of the Offaly Volunteer Centre, who have worked so hard to open their doors.”

ENDS

Notes to editor:

National Volunteering Strategy

The purpose of the National Volunteering Strategy is to recognise, support and promote the unique value and contribution of volunteers to Irish society.
The strategy also provides an opportunity for Government to acknowledge how important volunteering is to the well-being of the nation and to steer the delivery of an agreed and ambitious vision.
The strategy is a whole-of-government framework to support the voluntary sector, the development of which involved extensive public consultations.

Impact of Volunteering

Over 1 million people in Ireland volunteer each year (CSO 2013 QNHS).
Annually, this adds up to an economic contribution of €5 billion per year (this is based on the value of the 232.8 million hours given average industrial wage).
In a normal year, about 15,000 new people register on the volunteering database I-Vol. In 2020, as a result of mobilising a huge number of additional volunteers in response to COVID-19, that number was around 35,000-40,000.
Volunteering has significant benefits to the health and well-being of those who volunteer and by extension their communities. In a 2018 survey, 51% of volunteers reported that their physical health and wellbeing had improved and 62% reported that their mental health and wellbeing had improved.
Volunteering also supports those in unemployment to return to the workforce by helping them develop skills and build confidence.

Offaly Volunteer Centre

Offaly Volunteer Centre is an independent registered charity. Its Board is made up of eight representatives from the local community, representing key stakeholders and the geographic divisions of the County.
The centrality of Offaly in the Midlands, with a connection to well-developed network of moderately scaled towns, provides exciting opportunities for the development of volunteering in the County.
At policy level within the County, volunteerism is recognised as an important element in creating a vibrant and inclusive society. The need for volunteerism to be promoted was highlighted by respondents interviewed as part of the stakeholder engagement completed as part of the research for the Offaly Local Economic and Community Plan 2016 -2021.
The presence of a Volunteer Centre in Offaly has helped to promote more awareness and connections between volunteers and organisations bringing the concept of Volunteering in the county to a new level.