This May and June, Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea is recognising all the acts of neighbourliness and help that make the Royal Borough such a great place to live.

To coincide with Volunteers’ Week 2011 (1st-7th June) the Volunteer centre is distributing 20,000 Big Thank You postcards around the Borough to give local residents the chance to thank the people who’ve helped them out with shopping, gardening, lifts to work or college or any of the other millions of small acts of kindness that happen from day-to-day.

Grateful people will complete the postcard (front and back) with the name of the person who helped them and what they did. The postcards will then be used to make an online ‘Wall of Thanks’ as a public gesture towards all the unsung local heroes.

Kirsty Palmer, CEO of the Volunteer Centre comments, “In these difficult times, when it seems we’re all being asked to give more and make more sacrifices, we think it’s really important to take a moment to thank those people who make life a little bit brighter. We’re hoping to find sponsorship to make a public exhibition of these thanks so everyone living locally can see how much community spirit there really is.”

Postcards will be distributed around the Borough from the beginning of May, with the online Wall of Thanks going live at the beginning of June.


Notes for editors

• Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea was founded in 1969 and today works with over 300 charities and volunteer organisations in the Royal Borough. It exists to match up people who want to volunteer in their community with charities and other organisations that need help.
• Over 5500 people each year register an interest in volunteering in the Royal Borough through the Volunteer Centre.
• The Volunteer Centre employs eight staff and has up to 20 regular volunteers. It receives support from the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, NHS Kensington & Chelsea and Campden Charities.
• The services of the Volunteer Centre are available for anyone who wants them, including people with physical and learning disabilities or a history of mental health problems, prisoners and ex-offenders, and people who have been unemployed for some time who want to rediscover independence, learn new skills and increase their confidence.
• The Volunteer Centre is affiliated to Volunteering England (www.volunteering.org.uk)

 

For more information please contact:

Kirsty Palmer
Chief Executive
kirsty.palmer@voluntarywork.org.uk
020 8960 3722