VOLUNTEERING has soared in Stroud over the past year with more than double the number of people offering their unpaid help.
The charity Volunteer and Community Action (Stroud District) Ltd (VCA) had enjoyed a busy year with a "huge growth" in demand for their services, its annual general meeting learned.
"The number of people applying to the centre via the volunteering website and people coming through the door for personal advice on where to volunteer have both increased," said centre manager MarcOboussier.
"This shows what a vital service the volunteer centre gives in providing helpers for local organisations. The number of volunteers placed has increased too," he said.
Between April 2011 and March 2012, 288 people offered their help via www.do-it.org.uk and a further 98 came to the VCA offices in The Shambles.
Those figures had leapt since the previous year when 79 approached the VCA through "do-it" and 82 in person.
In the past year VCA had placed 115 people in volunteering roles, Mr Oboussier said.
That compared to just 61 placements previously, he said.
People typically undertook through VCA to voluntarily escort frail or vulnerable people, visit day centres, work in charity shops and help on the Cotswold Canals.
Mr Obussier said VCA was now also increasing its services to the community with a new partnership with Stroud District Council.
That would employ a volunteer support co-ordinator who would specifically help disadvantaged people who suffered from learning difficulties, mental health issues or addiction problems, and the unemployed, to access volunteering more easily.
Guest speaker at the annual meeting was Dr Claire Mould, chief executive officer of the OPENhouse, formerly Shire Training Workshops, which supports young people's education, training and accommodation.
VCA also runs a community transport network of mini buses and volunteer car drivers helping people who cannot access public transport.
VCA is administered by a charitable board which has welcomed new Stroud District Council representative Coun Doina Cornell in place of Coun Elizabeth Peters.
