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Volunteering

In the Office of the Third Sector we have the vision of a society where voluntary activity flourishes and where all individuals and communities are enabled to play a full part in civil society.

In this section:

• Youth volunteering
  The implementation of the national framework for youth action and engagement through the youth volunteering charity v.
• Volunteering guidance and useful resources 
  Guidance documents and useful resources for organisations involving volunteers, such as advice on Criminal Records Bureau checks, volunteers and the law, and a volunteering risk toolkit.
• Volunteering champion 
  Details of the work of Baroness Neuberger, the Government's independent volunteering champion.

Volunteering programmes:

• Access to Volunteering - a pilot programme providing funding to organisations to support them in meeting the additional costs associated with involving disabled peoople in volunteering
• The European Year of Voluntary Activites - 2011 will be the European year of voluntary activities promoting active citizenship
• Generations Together - a programme aiming to break down  the barriers between young and older people through volunteering projects
• The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service 
  An annual award for outstanding achievements by groups of volunteers.
• The Volunteer Management Programme - a £3 million programme designed to support the development of volunteer managers
• 2012 Inspiration and Legacy Programme - a programme aiming to help create a volunteering legacy for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Past programmes:

• Volunteering for All programme
  A cross-government volunteering programme for socially excluded groups.
• GoldStar volunteering and mentoring exemplar programme
  A volunteering good practice dissemination programme.
• Beacon Councils – positive youth engagement
  A local authority scheme focusing on positive youth engagement.