THE Crickhowell Volunteer Bureau is the first organisation in Powys to be recognised for its time and effort spent within the community, by being successful in winning a prestigious Accolade.

Based within the Crickhowell Resource and Information Centre, the Volunteer Bureau has been presented with the Three Year Award from the "Wales Council for Voluntary Action" (WCVA) which manages Investing in Volunteers in Wales.

Nigel Davies, volunteering advisor at WCVA said, "There are 21 organisations in Wales who have won this award, 12 organisations in Powys applied for it and only one, Crickhowell Volunteer Bureau was successful in being awarded with it."

This award encourages people to celebrate Volunteering. This is important, as half the population of Wales volunteer in some capacity.  It also demonstrates the serious professionalism that the Volunteer Bureau applies to its volunteers.

The award is based on the four areas of volunteer management, planning for volunteer involvement, recruiting volunteers, selecting and matching volunteers and supporting and retaining volunteers.

These four areas have been divided into six steps and 40 sections; these have been devised by extensive consultation and pilot work with volunteer involved organisations.

The award enables organisations to review their volunteer management and also demonstrate their commitment to volunteering.

Crickhowell Volunteer Bureau has over 200 volunteers from the ages of 15 to 85 who help out with roles which benefit the community from projects such as meals on wheels, a community car scheme, continuing healthcare project and a youth led defibrillator project.

Manager of the Crickhowell Volunteer Bureau Kerry Crosfield said "Working towards the Investing in Volunteers Award has been a huge challenge, with much time being spent on ensuring that we have up to date policies, procedures and safeguards. This demonstrates that we are able to give all of our volunteers the time, commitment and placement care that they deserve. This shows our appreciation for the time and commitment that they offer freely to volunteering within our projects. The work involved was at first daunting and time consuming and no easy feat, however with the support that has been shown by our own Trustees and delivery partners such as WCVA and PAVO we have found the challenge to be rewarding and are thrilled to have been successful".

We have many projects that require volunteers of all ages and abilities, anyone wishing to be involved in becoming part of this growing team in Crickhowell and surrounding area should contact: Kerry Crosfield on 01873 812177 or email: [email protected]">[email protected] or drop in and have a chat at the Volunteer Bureau office situated in Crickhowell Resource and Information Centre, Beaufort Street, Crickhowell.