Volunteer Centres Ireland calls on organisations to celebrate International Volunteer Day this December 5th in the wake of the most sucessful national day of volunteering since its inception just 3 years ago.

The recession has seen a massive increase in the number of Irish people seeking to volunteer in their local communities.

New figures released today (4th Dec) show that the number of citizens who are prepared to give up their time to help others has increased exponentially.

So far this year, a total of 12,600 individuals have registered to volunteer with Volunteer Centres Ireland – the state supported national volunteering organisation  This represents an increase of more than 70% per cent on last year.

There has also been a significant increase in the number of not-for-profit organisations looking for volunteers to assist them.  The number of organisations supported by local Volunteer Centres now stands at 4,003, representing an increase of more than 1,300 over the past year.

More than 4,000 individuals have already been placed in volunteering opportunities. These will generate 342,798 hours of volunteering in 2009.  This equates to nearly 204 full-time equivalent workers and almost €5.2 million in earnings.

Meanwhile, more than 4,000 once off opportunities were created for Give it a Swirl, the national day of volunteering which took place on the 25th of September last. From street clean–ups to helping older people learn mobile phone texting to restoring abandoned buildings, people from all walks of life and every age -school children, people with disabilities, older people, asylum seekers and many more – took part and showed that in a few short hours people could make a huge difference in their communities.

The Chief Executive of VCI, Yvonne McKenna, says that the recession has been good for active citizenship and volunteering.

‘In part the explosion in active citizenship is due to the turn in Ireland’s economic circumstances. Thousands of people who have either lost their jobs or, indeed, cannot find work after graduating from second or third level education are being proactive and are seeking out fulfilling opportunities and the chance to learn skills that could lead to full-time employment.

‘Others are seizing the opportunity to show solidarity with their neighbours and communities by pitching in where necessary. This has been apparent by the numbers of people reaching out to the flood victims recently’.


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For more information or to set up an interview with Dr Yvonne McKenna please contact Eva Early on 087 2222216 0r 01 7994519

Editor’s note:
Volunteer Centres Ireland (VCI) is the representative body for Ireland’s community of Volunteer Centres. It is a national organisation with responsibility for developing volunteering nationally and locally.  VCI manage the only national database of volunteering opportunities through its website -volunteer.ie.

There are currently 20 volunteer centres that are members of VCI, located across the length and breadth of the country.  As well as coordinating activities for the national day of volunteering, VCI regularly contribute to the debate on the role of the voluntary sector in Ireland and assisted the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in developing the national policy on volunteer centres in Ireland.