Although 2010 is only a week old, plans are already under way to make next year the European Year of Volunteering and Fianna Fáil Galway East TD Micheal Kitt wants the public to get involved.
The European Council has designated 2011 the European Year of Volunteering and the EU parliament has approved €3 million this year for preparatory actions and €8 million for the year itself.
The Government is supporting volunteering and active citizenship in the State and in December allocated €116,000 in funding to the Galway Volunteer Centre.
“Volunteering is as important in Galway as it is in Geneva,” said Dep Kitt. “This is a truly European-wide issue and we can all benefit from working together in promoting volunteerism. The Galway Volunteer Centre are doing wonderful work in facilitating people with worthwhile projects.”
Dep Kitt said he looks forward to working with groups across county Galway to see how “we can play a role in the European dedicated year of volunteering and promoting active citizenship”.
