A Warwickshire volunteering organisation is set to use the 2012 Games as inspiration to support sport and culture across the Midlands.  The Voluntary Action for Stratford on Avon (VASA) has been chosen as one of just 15 organisations across the UK to deliver workshops which aim to use the inspiration of London 2012 to encourage volunteering at a grass roots level in areas such as sport and the arts within local communities.

The organisation, based on Arden Street in Stratford, has been commissioned by Volunteering England to deliver workshops in Coventry, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire which will identify volunteering opportunities in the region and assist with the recruitment of volunteers.

VASA had to beat competition from other applicants to land the contract and Julia Phillips, chief executive of VASA, said she believed the success was down to long-established connections and successful partnerships with relevant groups and organisations in the region.

“When Volunteering England announced that they would be looking for organisations to deliver these workshops we knew immediately that we were perfectly positioned to do so.  We contacted Voluntary Action Coventry to see if they would be interested in supporting us in pitching for and delivering the workshops and within a few minutes almost everything had been agreed.  Obviously we were delighted when we discovered we had been chosen, especially when we take into account the size and reputation of other organisations appointed across the country - we are in great company.  The 2012 Games is great opportunity for us to increase the level of volunteering taking place across the region. It’s about community cohesion, building stronger communities and helping people to develop new skills as well as their self confidence.”

The workshops are due to take place during the early part of 2011 with dates and venues still to be finalised.

Tom Clift, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership manager for the 2012 Games, said: “Volunteers form a vital part of any community and are equally as important in terms of keeping organisations and sports clubs in operation and providing the social and health benefits that come with them.  The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will need 70,000 volunteers to help make them a success.  We aim to use 2012 as an inspiration to encourage more people across the sub-region to volunteer locally and hosting these workshops provides the perfect opportunity to do just that.  The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games coming to the UK provides us with the perfect opportunity to engage people in cultural and sporting activity like never before.  The fact that we have such a well established voluntary association in our region and that they have been charged with the task of undertaking these important workshops is fantastic news and we look forward to supporting VASA as we build up to 2012.”