New volunteering initiative at Sandwell Libraries
Libraries across Sandwell are part of a new initiative to create volunteering opportunities and support those experiencing
loneliness. Sandwell Council has been successful in gaining a grant of £88,000 from the government’s Know Your Neighbourhood Fund.
With their share of the funding, Sandwell Libraries and Archives will launch the new ‘Join Us’ project. This initiative will fund activities to combat loneliness, as well as appointing a new Volunteer Coordinator, responsible for recruiting new volunteers to support the libraries’ offer.
The Volunteer Coordinator will also establish connections between Sandwell’s residents and partner organisations to encourage volunteering. This project will add to the diverse services already offered by Sandwell’s libraries, including information sessions, events and community initiatives. For example, it is hoped that volunteers through this programme will help Sandwell libraries to deliver their Welcoming Spaces initiative this winter. Last year, nearly 200,000 people visited these spaces, with more than 2,000 being offered help and referrals to council services and partners.
More information can be found about Welcoming Spaces on the council website. Councillor Syeda Khatun, Sandwell Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Communities, said: “Our libraries are so important to our local community and are great spaces to help people connect with others. We already have so many wonderful services that the libraries provide so having more volunteers will help us to improve our offer and support local people.”
Sandwell is one of 27 areas in England to be given a share of £2.5million. Other recipients include museums, art organisations and charities. The funding comes from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and has been distributed by Arts Council England (ACE) in partnership with national charity, Libraries Connected.