date: 23 May 2007
embargo: 00:01 hours Friday May 25 2007
Unions and voluntary organisations join to call for new Community Day bank holiday
Leading voluntary organisations have joined with the TUC to call for a new national bank holiday in October to celebrate and promote community activity and involvement. The call is being made today (Friday) on the anniversary of the House of Commons approving the Bill granting Britain's first ever bank holidays on May 25 1871.
The TUC, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, Community Service Volunteers, Volunteering England and the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action have made the call in a letter to Gordon Brown and other politicians, and in a joint statement launched today.
They say that a new bank holiday should be used to help build the Government's 'vision of a society where voluntary activity flourishes and where all individuals and communities are enabled to play a full part in civil society', and would complement existing well-established initiatives.
The day could be used:
- to encourage people to volunteer and get involved with community groups and activities - not just on the day, but on a continuing basis;
- to provide an opportunity for community and voluntary groups to publicise their work and develop new activities to engage their communities;
- to provide an opportunity for society as a whole to recognise the importance of the often unsung efforts of volunteers and community groups and the role they play in promoting the diversity and variety which is such a great strength of the UK's civil society; and
- to give an opportunity for voluntary groups to have days of action and local communities to hold gala days and other ways of increasing and celebrating community spirit.
Community involvement is not just good for society, but benefits the individuals involved through developing new skills and improving their health, highly likely to be useful in the rest of their lives including their workplaces, says the joint statement.
The extra community activity and skills development would offset the costs of an extra day off as the Home Office's citizenship survey estimates that the current level of volunteering is worth more than £40 billion a year in England alone, and CSV research shows that two-thirds of first time volunteers go on to volunteer again.
It would also help fill the UK's public holiday deficit. There are three fewer days off work in the UK than the average for the EU. There is more about bank holidays and their history at http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/bankholidays.pdf
The groups suggest that the best time for such a holiday would be at the end of October, coinciding with the normal half term break and in the middle of the longest current gap between bank holidays.
This new holiday should particularly appeal to the new Prime Minister, the groups say, as he has called for a new day to bring the people of Britain together to celebrate their shared values.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'This is an idea whose time has come. It ticks all the right boxes. It will encourage more community involvement, celebrate our shared values as a nation, and help meet the holiday gap between Britain and the rest of Europe, but in a constructive way. It's a great opportunity for a new Prime Minister to make a mark in history.'
Dame Elisabeth Hoodless, Executive Director of CSV, the UK's largest volunteering and training charity, said: 'Research shows that 11 million people would volunteer if asked. A community day is an excellent way to involve them to reduce crime, boost health, protect the environment and help young people to read and write. What better way to bring people together to make a difference and strengthen our communities?'
Christopher Spence CBE, Chief Executive of Volunteering England, the national development agency for volunteering, said: "Community Day presents a unique opportunity to recognise the vast numbers of people who, unpaid and of their own free will, contribute their time, energy and skills to benefit their community. It is also important to acknowledge the contribution of groups and individuals involved in campaigning and action to change society, as well as those who come together to identify and tackle unmet needs.
"Community Day will build on the momentum and complement existing annual celebrations of the role of volunteers, like Volunteers' Week.'
Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) said: 'We badly need a national day on which we can celebrate the inspirational work that voluntary and community organisations do
throughout the year. By demonstrating the impact and scope of the sector, it would also encourage more and more people to engage in community activity to build their skills and most importantly help transform other people's lives. I hope Gordon Brown will make this a priority.'
Kevin Curley, Chief Executive of NAVCA, said: "This is a great initiative. Getting involved in local community action can make a real difference to people's lives and their neighbourhoods. It can restore our sense of community, making our area a better place to live and instil a sense of shared endeavour. We might not be able to change the world but we can all do something to change our neighbourhood."
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- The text of the letter that the five organisations have sent to Gordon Brown appears below:
Dear Chancellor
We are writing to you to suggest that the Government create a new public holiday in the
autumn with a focus on celebrating and promoting voluntary community activity.
We share your belief in the power of community action and volunteering to transform the
lives of citizens and communities for the better. Such activity brings us together in the spirit of
shared goals, promotes a culture of selflessness and provides the mortar that builds cohesive
communities. Where voluntary community activity is the norm, people and their communities
play a full part in civil society and wealth, health and well-being are more likely to flourish.
We believe that one Community Day a year would, over time, raise considerably the numbers
of people engaged in voluntary community activity and thus play a major role in promoting
these benefits.
In addition, we feel that the increased social cohesion, improved skills and greater health and
well-being that would result over time from Community Day would more than offset the cost
to businesses and the public purse of creating the new holiday.
We have suggested that Community Day should occur during the autumn half term break as
our research has shown that this has proved by far the most popular time for a new public
holiday and would allow follow-up family activities throughout the week enhancing the
benefits of the day further.
All of these points are explored in greater detail in the attached statement.
We hope that you will give this request due consideration. We believe that our proposal
reflects and reinforces all that is best about our shared values as a nation and will have
concrete, positive effects for local communities and will make this country a better place in
which to live.
- A joint statement on Community Day: a new public holiday celebrating and promoting voluntary community activity can be found at http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/communityday.pdf
Media enquiries:
TUC: Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248; M: 07778 158175; E: media@tuc.org.uk
NCVO Siobhan Wakely 020 7520 2569 Siobhan.Wakely@ncvo-vol.org.uk
CSV Jason Tanner, 07941 433598 / 020 7812 0038 jtanner@csv.org.uk
Volunteering England Sonya Roberts 020 7520 8965/07952 128057
Switchboard: 0845 305 6979 sonya.roberts@volunteeringengland.org www.volunteering.org.uk
NAVCA Neil Cleeveley 0114 289 3954 neil.cleeveley@navca.org.uk http://www.navca.org.uk
Press release (1,300 words) issued 25 May 2007
