Worcestershire Association of Carers (WAC) is the first organisation in the county to be awarded the gold standard Investing in Volunteers award. Carole Cumino CEO says “We are delighted to be recognised as a centre of volunteering excellence. We wanted to acknowledge the enormous contribution that our volunteers make to improving the lives of the 63,000 unpaid carers in Worcestershire”.

Investing in Volunteers aims to improve the quality of the volunteering experience. WAC was assessed against a range of best practice standards and were found to excel in all aspects of working with its volunteers. They provide excellent support, training and opportunities, tailored to the needs of the individual volunteer.

Val Turner, Volunteer Coordinator, explained “Preparing for the award was a great opportunity to showcase the important role that our volunteers play in the provision of our services. It has been an exciting year, particularly as we have recently been commissioned by the County Council to support carers through the Integrated Carers Hub”.

Councillor Lucy Hodgeson and Lady Morrison, WAC’s patron, presented the award to Carole at County Hall. Cllr Hodgeson said “This is a great achievement and shows how important volunteers are to the local community”.

WAC are recruiting more volunteers for its expanding services and the next training programme starts on 10^th November. If anyone is interested in volunteering contact Alison Cutner or Val Turner on, 01905 751347 or email [email protected]. Information on the volunteering opportunities available, can be found at www.carersworcs.org.uk