Find your perfect volunteering match
October 30, 2015
The South Downs Volunteering Fair
11am-3pm, Saturday 7 November
South Downs Centre in Midhurst
Hundreds of new volunteering opportunities across the South Downs will soon be easier to find for people wanting to gain new skills, discover local history, make new friends, get exercise or enjoy nature.
The new interactive online volunteering map, developed by the South Downs National Park Authority, means that prospective volunteers will be able to find opportunities to support causes close to their hearts and close to their homes at www.southdowns.gov.uk/volunteering-map
The new map will be launched at the South Downs Volunteering Fair in Midhurst on Saturday 7 November. Large organisations including the National Trust, Parham House, Petersfield Museum and Arundel Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust as well as smaller charities like Friends of Hollingbury and Burstead Woods will be among those attending on the day and recruiting online.
Wildlife, communities and landscapes all benefit from tens of thousands of volunteer days* given each year to hundreds of organisations across the South Downs National Park.
Ian Hartle leads on volunteering for the South Downs National Park Authority:
“Some people like to give their time on a one-off basis, others turn up every week come rain or shine. Some are there for the great sense of companionship and others to get fit but they all get to enjoy giving something back. Whatever reason they have for giving up their time we’re grateful and want to make it as easy as possible for people to find the right opportunity for them and for the National Park.”
The first volunteering opportunities will be online from 7 November at www.southdowns.gov.uk/volunteering-map and more will be added over time.
*A report on volunteering in the National Park in 2012 estimated that more than 90,000 days of volunteers’ time are given to the South Downs each year.