Editorial

Volunteers can’t solve budget crisis

When the Government makes cuts, volunteers are expected to pick up the pieces. We see it with libraries, the Adventure Playground and Verdon Rec, the Advice Centres and foodbanks.

The Council says it wants to work in ‘partnership’ with the voluntary sector before more budget cuts in April. The trouble is the Council doesn’t have a good track record of working with the voluntary sector – witness what has happened with the community nurseries. There are now far fewer volunteering opportunities because of cuts to the staff who managed and supported them.

Volunteers can’t simply replace paid jobs. Needs in Burngreave are more complex, both for volunteers and the public they serve.

Residents in Burngreave already do a lot of volunteering and the sector is at full stretch. The Council’s wish to run more services with volunteers risks an even bigger gap between the rich and poor areas of Sheffield.

Messenger Info

• Copy deadline: 13th November

• Published: 30th November

• Burngreave Messenger Ltd, Abbeyfield Park House, Abbeyfield Road, Sheffield S4 7AT.

• Telephone: (0114) 242 0564

• Email: mail@burngreavemessenger.org

This issue’s team: Rohan Francis, Douglas Johnson, Jamie Marriott, John Mellor, Lisa Swift.

Proofing and editing: Fran Belbin, Annie Blindell, Gaynor Carr, Carrie Hedderwick, Saleema Imam, Robert Shaw, Julia Shergold, Muneebah Waheed.

Thank you to the volunteers who helped put this issue online: Kate Atkinson, Saleema Imam, Douglas Johnson, John Mellor and Christine Steers.

The Burngreave Messenger

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