AS the cost-of-living crisis bites, the local charity, Citizens Advice Basingstoke, has seen a huge number of inquiries from local people struggling to stay on top of household bills.
Thanks to the tireless dedication of its volunteers and staff, Citizens Advice Basingstoke has continued to give essential advice and crisis support to help people stay in their homes, warm and with food on their table.
However, vital funds are needed to recruit and train more volunteers. On average, in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, it costs £970 a year to recruit and train a volunteer adviser. In contrast their financial modelling tool shows that in 2021/22 the total value of Citizens Advice volunteers to the region was £4.8 million.
As part of Volunteers’ Week, which ran from 1 to 7 June, Citizens Advice Basingstoke is calling for local businesses and individuals to sponsor a volunteer by donating as much as they can.
Every week volunteers give 583 hours of their time helping people. In the last year, Citizens Advice Basingstoke has helped 12,492 people with 20,685 of problems, such as debt, housing, benefit and employment issues. The age of people ranged from 16 - 99; 46% have a disability or long-term health condition, people who have never struggled before are asking for help.
Chris, volunteer advisor at Basingstoke said: “I feel rewarded being part of the team helping people during these difficult times. People from all walks of life need help at some point and time is an amazing gift to give people. The training and on-going support given are brilliant and I am so glad we can help others.”
Graham Hatcher, Chief Officer at Citizens Advice Basingstoke added: “We have an incredible team of volunteers who freely give their time and skills to ensure people can get support in their time of need. I’m particularly proud of the immense dedication they’ve shown during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, when demand for our help is so high. We can’t thank them enough for their compassion and hard work. As a charity, we desperately need donations to recruit and train more volunteer advisers to help us to help more people in our local community. Please consider donating what you can to sponsor a volunteer.”
If you’re interested in finding out more about volunteering with Citizens Advice Basingstoke, https://www.basingstokeandtadleycab.org.uk/get-involved-donate. No experience is required, full training and support is provided for volunteer roles.