WRVS’ birthday publicised on BBC Radio Wales

BBC Radio Wales joined WRVS’s 70th birthday celebrations today, 11 July, when WRVS chief executive, Lynne Berry, and long-standing volunteer, Mary Howard Jones, joined breakfast show presenter Bethan Rhys Roberts to talk about WRVS’ 70 years of volunteering, and why volunteering with us is just as important and vibrant today as it was in 1938.

WRVS volunteer, Mary Howard Jones, joined WRVS in the early 1950s as an ambulance driver and now works in a Darby and Joan club and is an emergency services volunteer: “I’m still enjoying every moment. It’s a great privilege and people should really think about it.”

Lynne Berry explained that WRVS was looking for new volunteers from any age or background. She described how volunteers get a huge amount of out the work they do, whatever they are looking for out of volunteering: “One young woman, has been involved in her local hospital in Ysbyty Gwynedd and set up a committee called the ‘can do’ group. She and other young people are involved in a whole range of things from mobile phone recycling for raising funds to carrying out information and advice.

Young people were getting involved in a whole range of things. "Many of them find that this a fantastic way of developing skills, building up their experience, their confidence so that when they come to apply for university or when they're at university they can really build up their CV," she said. "It helps them enormously as a step forward into work later on."

“It’s just wonderful because we’ve long had a history of feisty young women, and men, getting involved with us and I’m really glad we’re able to do so still.”

You can listen to the whole interview at bbc.co.uk until Thursday 17 July 2008 on their listen again service. Please fast-forward to two hours 18 minutes into the programme or read the transcript below.

About WRVS

WRVS (http://www.wrvs.org.uk) volunteers and employees work together to support people in need who might otherwise feel lonely and isolated, whether at home, in hospital, or in times of crisis. For further information, please call 01235 442949.

Lidia Drane

Web co-ordinator

Tel 01235 442949

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