THE reader’s letter “Help is not wanted” (BT 24/5) makes very sad reading. What this devastating account reveals is the price Bury continues to pay for the council’s woeful neglect of our voluntary sector for the past two decades.

For anyone wishing to explore volunteering opportunities and be sign-posted to the most appropriate activity for them, there simply is nowhere to go to since 2007 when Bury Council under Labour control foolishly and shamelessly shut down our thriving Council for Voluntary Service.

And yet, as a result of deeply felt concerns about the increase in the number of families or individuals having to resort to food banks due to the Conservative Government’s relentless drive against the poorest in our community, the shocking degradation of our public services, of our green spaces and natural environment, Bury has seen a huge increase in the number of volunteers rising to the challenge to help.

According to a report published in 2017 by Sheffield Hallam University Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, there are an estimated 1,135 organisations working in the voluntary sector in Bury.

However, in the Summary of that report, it was noted that the research only involved a web-based survey of organisations. “Unfortunately”, the summary states, “we did not have an infrastructure partner able to support this research at a locality level”.

The researchers were therefore unable to produce a robust estimate of the number of hours donated by Bury’s volunteers and could not assess their contribution to the local economy.

So, nobody really knows what is happening on the ground and we do not have any objective measure of the added value the voluntary sector brings to our borough.

The good news is that the council’s leadership team seems to have finally caught on with the hidden social and economic benefits of Bury’s volunteering and has found £600000 from its “ resilience fund” to set up a new organisation entitled “ Bury Voluntary , Community and Faith Alliance” (VCFA).

The not so good news is that VCFA’s existence appears to have gone largely unnoticed since it was formed in February of this year.

So, whether you run a “Friends of “a local park, a nature or Heritage conservation project, a youth project, a mother and toddlers club, a self-managed allotment or community centre/library, a food bank, a not-for-profit social enterprise, a tenants and residents’ association, an arts community group, a fund raising club or charity, a death cafe or a green cafe, a community association or local church helping members of your own faith community and beyond, a community group supporting vulnerable people, refugees and asylum seekers, or a charity helping victims of crimes or people suffering from mental health, I do urge you to join Bury’s Voluntary, Community and Faith Alliance.

More than 90 per cent of organisations working across the voluntary sector in Greater Manchester operate on an income of less than £10 000. The same is likely to apply to 90 per cent of Bury’s voluntary organisations.

So, let’s make sure that the council’s generous grant helps to serve the whole of Bury’s multi-faceted and exciting voluntary sector before all the money gets siphoned off to the very small group of historically favoured “partners”.

What we need is a properly staffed Resource Centre where would-be volunteers can get all the information they need to find what is available and what is best for them and where all our voluntary organisations can access practical support to remain sustainable and develop.

I therefore urge you to consider applying to become a member of Bury VCFA by emailing: admin@buryVCFA.org.uk or visit www.burycfa.org.uk.

Nicole Haydock

Guiseley Close

Bury