Portsmouth City Council Supporting Libraries Volunteers

Portsmouth City Council's Libraries are to receive a boost to support community volunteering opportunities.

The £130,000 funding is for a two-year project to increase opportunities to young people and other people who experience barriers to access volunteering. It is being distributed by Arts Council England from the Volunteering Futures Fund.

The project plans to increase the breadth and diversity of volunteer opportunities across Portsmouth. It will particularly focus on providing opportunities for people with disabilities.

The council will promote opportunities for all communities across the city to engage in volunteering at recruitment fairs, taster sessions and celebration events. It hopes to break down barriers to volunteering and enable all organisations to continue their valuable work within communities, and benefiting as a volunteer in so many other ways.

Lindy Elliott, libraries and archives service manager, said: "We already have lots of amazing volunteers who do a fantastic job in supporting the library service and wider cultural offer in the city.

"This new funding gives us an opportunity to look more closely at our volunteering offer and work with different and diverse communities in new ways so we can benefit from what they have to offer, and they can enjoy the personal benefits of making a difference." To find out more about volunteering opportunities with Portsmouth libraries service visit https://librariesandarchives.portsmouth.gov.uk/ or ask at your nearest library.