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On Volunteers

Volunteers and voluntary organisations have always made important contributions to communities and the public sector. In the past the voluntary sector has even been the catalyst for the creation of new public services. However, reliance on volunteering in a climate of cuts creates a real threat to the delivery of important public services.

As governments move to privatise, commercialise and eliminate services, the impacts are felt on families and communities. The use of volunteers has become an alternative service delivery model to deliver public services like contracting out or privatisation. Stitching together the huge gaps in services by relying on volunteers just won’t work.