THE second annual volunteer fair brought hundreds of eager volunteers into Romsey looking for ways to help their communities.
The fair at the Town Hall was organised by Romsey Town Council and Unity Online, and was attended by 24 organisations.
There were representatives from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, Andover Mind, RNLI, Wilder Romsey, and local charities such as Janes Scarth House, Romsey Young Carers and Butterflies Bereavement Support.
With such a wide variety of roles available, people could talk to representatives from different groups about volunteering roles in history, culture, local events, nature recovery, and helping local communities. Many groups requiring volunteers to give just a few hours a month, or even a year, with vacancies for trustee positions and committee members help with their professional expertise.
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Suzi Shilling, fair organiser and business, events and tourism officer for Romsey Town Council, said: “Thank you to all those who attended this year. We were delighted, as it felt as if everyone who came signed up to volunteer. The Town Hall was filled with a great atmosphere; our visitors were full of enthusiasm and our organisations left inspired after having some positive conversations.”
Christianne Ireland, Unity voluntary sector support manager, said: “What a great turnout and variety of voluntary groups in attendance. It was a good opportunity to catch up with everyone. The stream of potential volunteers did not disappoint either. Through our registration sheets, we had 48 potential volunteers who we were able to follow up on, sending out links to volunteering opportunities in the Test Valley.”
The Romsey Beggars Fair returned this year as attendees. They will be celebrating their 30th year this year.
David Vane, chairman, said: “We were so happy to attend the volunteer fair as we managed to sign up just under 40 people. Without our amazing volunteers we would not be able to run the Beggars Fair. Being there in person really enabled us to have some wonderful conversations and is so much more beneficial than a social media post asking for help.”
For more details about future volunteer fairs, contact suzishilling@romseytc.org.uk.
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