VOLUNTEERS' week is a always a time to recognise the contribution made by millions of volunteers’ across the UK, Scotland and just as important, Fife, each year.

Now in its 34th Year, Volunteers’ week ran from the June June 1 to 7 and is a chance to celebrate volunteering in all of its forms.

This year to celebrate at Citizens Advice and Rights Fife (CARF), we were able to hold a celebration for our existing volunteers in each of our Bureau (the Cowdenbeath Bureau is at The Fountain), to share experiences and what it means to volunteer with us.

When you come into a CARF office, the chances are the first person you are welcomed by is a volunteer. Any volunteer adviser that you speak to will have trained for six months to give you the level of advice required. It’s a huge commitment.

But our volunteers don’t just deliver advice and information, they also provide support services such as administration, IT, marketing and promotion.

A number of our trustees volunteer on the Board of Directors too. So far this year our volunteers have helped provide advice in over 6000 instances. Without their support, we wouldn’t have a Citizens Advice Bureau service in Fife. So, this volunteer week, why not do some volunteering yourself. You will gain skills that will help you in other walks of life; whether you are recently retired, looking to get practical work experience or just wanting to use your time in a way that helps others.

We would like to thank all volunteers, not only in our organisation, but in the many others across Fife. Everyone brings something of themselves to volunteering and they all gain in so many different ways, as does the host organisation and its service users.

If you would like to find out more about volunteering with CARF then visit our website at www.cabfife.org.uk or contact our training co-ordinator Catriona Skinner at cskinner@carfonline.org.uk

RICHARD BARNETT,

Citizens Advice Rights Fife.