DID you realise that the WRVS - the Women's Royal Voluntary Service - also has men in its membership? I hadn't, and this omission was highlighted this week when Sheila Leyland, Bolton's WRVS metropolitan organiser, appealed for more volunteers.
"About 10 per cent of WRVS members nationally are men," she explained, "and very good they are, too." In Bolton, for example, several men are regular drivers for meal delivery and the branch's two converted mini-buses and they also figure in other services.
Sheila wants to enlist more volunteers generally in Bolton for the many services that WRVS in the area organises every week.
She is particularly keen to recruit volunteers to help out with the over-60s social club at Lever Gardens in Little Lever. This takes place each Thursday afternoon, from 1.30pm to around 4pm.
Sheila also needs people to help with the poular Wheelers and Wobblers Club for the disabled, which meets fortnightly on Mondays at the King Street community centre in Farnworth. This runs from 10am to around 2.30pm with general social activities, like bingo, on offer.
"Men or women would be very welcome to help us out in either of these places - and we can always find other work around the district for volunteers," added Sheila.
I can tell you from personal experience that the WRVS members are a lively lot to join, and wherever they are involved, there is warm companionship on offer.
Even if you only have a small amount of time available each week, they'll find a vacancy to suit, and there is plenty of satisfaction on offer knowing that you are helping others.
Give the WRVS a ring on Bolton 524453 between 9.30am and 3pm on weekdays.
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