2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the Lancaster Volunteer Achievement Awards, a now bi-annual event celebrating volunteers and volunteering across the district. Back in 2005 the very fist event saw hundreds of local volunteers nominated to be recognised for the…
When Read Easy Morecambe Bay launched over two years ago, they had no readers, just a small team of volunteer coaches and a belief that adults could improve their lives through learning to read. Chris was one of their first…
You might have heard the term ‘social prescribing’, you may even have read about it in one of our previous columns, but it is surprising how many people still aren’t quite sure what it is or how it works. In…
Can you believe it’s almost spring? Hopefully, as the days get longer and the weather gets better, we’ll all start to feel a bit happier and more motivated, and this week I want to give you some ideas on how…
Are you aged between 16 and 25? Do you look at the world around you and think you could improve it? Do you often feel like nobody listens to you, or that the things that impact your life just happen…
Help is Close is a new campaign that aims to proactively and reactively direct people of all ages to any physical or mental health support they may need, and/or social activities to support good health and reduce isolation and loneliness,…
The third Monday in January has come to be known as “Blue Monday”, a day when many people feel down and really start to feel the negative effects of the long winter days. The Samaritans recognise that feeling low isn’t…
For our final column of 2024, we would like to share some words from our chief officer, Yak Patel. As some of us in the sector wind down for the Christmas break and others prepare for one of the busiest…
Lancaster District Street Aid is an easy and secure way for the public to help formerly homeless people who want to stay off the streets. You may have heard of organisations like Calico, Let’s BeFriends, Acorn and others who work…
As Christmas draws near, the Volunteer Centre receives lots of queries about Christmas volunteering. While it is true that many organisations and projects see an increase in activity over the festive period, in a lot of cases this doesn’t lead…
