A NEW team member has joined the staff in the Community Action, Ilkley office.

Lorraine Greenald has taken up a job as Volunteer Development Worker - a 12 month role funded by Ilkley Town Council.

“This is a really exciting opportunity to get involved with the voluntary sector community in Ilkley,” she said. “Volunteers are at the centre of so much local activity and without them, many groups just could not provide the support that they do to the community. I am looking forward to meeting with some of the groups that use volunteers and helping to develop and grow volunteering in Ilkley in the next few months.”

The new job is a result of a consultation exercise with representatives from the Ilkley voluntary and community sector which identified a need to promote volunteering in order to sustain and develop the voluntary sector and the support it provides locally.

The volunteer development worker role has three key objectives:

• To support voluntary and community groups in Ilkley to promote new volunteering opportunities

• To help groups develop volunteering good practice

• To assist individuals to find appropriate volunteering roles

The Development Worker will be key to promoting “Volunteering Ilkley” and the website www.volunteeringilkley.org.uk.

The website was launched in April 2019 and has been developed to encourage local groups to promote volunteer roles.

As well as providing support to groups, the Development Worker can also assist individuals interested in volunteering but not quite sure where to start.

The post is being managed by Community Action Bradford and District and is based in the Ilkley office. Lorraine can be contacted by email lorraine@cabad.org.uk