Volunteers are being sought for the prestigious WhitbreadVolunteer Action Awards. National surveys (1) show that more peoplegive their time to support sport than any other volunteeringactivity. So, in celebration of UN International Year of Volunteers2001 (IYV2001) (2), a special category has been introduced to honourthe people who make the greatest contributions to the field ofsport.

Launching the Awards, Christopher Spence, Chief Executive of theNational Centre for Volunteering, said: “Without volunteers,activities from school sports days to international events such asthe Commonwealth Games could not run. Huge numbers of volunteerscoach, marshal, referee and perform other support role activities,yet so often their involvement goes unrewarded. We hope that thisspecial Whitbread Volunteer Action Award, in UN International Year ofVolunteers, will help acknowledge these volunteer activities andencourage others to take part”.

There are five special IYV2001 awards open to those who have madean outstanding contribution to volunteering in the followingareas:

  • Sport
  • Health and social care
  • Environment / conservation
  • Community or campaigning
  • Employee volunteering
  1. The National Survey of Volunteering, Justin Davis-Smith, Institute for Volunteering Research.
  2. During 2001, 120 governments from as far afield as the Caribbean, Australia and Madagascar are celebrating the contribution that volunteers make to building communities and encouraging more people to get involved. For more information on the year see www.iyv2001england.org.
  • The closing date for nominations is 28 September 2001. Regional award ceremonies are being held 5-9 November, and the national ceremony is being on 5 December, International Day of Volunteers.
  • Details of the awards and the prizes can be obtained either by logging onto www.volunteering.org.uk/whitbread.htm or by contacting the National Centre for Volunteering on 020 7520 8916 (phone), 020 7520 8910 (fax) or volunteeringpromotion@thecentre.org.uk (e-mail)
  • Facts and figures on volunteering can be found on www.volunteering.org.uk/facts.htm
  • Anyone interested in volunteering for the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games can visit www.commonwealthgames.com or call 0845 3453457
  • The National Centre for Volunteering is an independent voluntary organisation promoting volunteering as a powerful force for change, both for those who volunteer and the wider community.

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