Last updated 13:09, Monday, 18 August 2008

CUMBRIA County Council leader Tim Stoddart said: “I am delighted to be part of the celebration that will mark the fantastic contribution made by volunteers to all aspects of life in Cumbria.

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In balance: Tim Stoddard

“The Cumbria Community Awards 2007 were a huge success and I fully expect that this year will we will unearth even more unsung heroes. The awards give us a great opportunity to show how much we value our volunteers, for so long people who gave their time for free were largely invisible and although I’m sure that many of Cumbria’s third sector would be happy to stay like this, it’s vital that we impress upon them how important they are to the county.

“Cumbria has a high proportion of people who do voluntary and community work – it’s in their nature.

“But modesty is also something that’s in the Cumbrian nature and so many of the people at last year’s awards had to be persuaded by the people who nominated them that they deserve their award.

“It will be wonderful to see so many people from so many different backgrounds, ages and communities up for these awards.

“Cumbrians who do voluntary and community work are the backbone of our services and make a huge difference to the social and economic well being of the county. We hope there will be winners in every community and we want to hear about local unknown heroes – people who make a real difference. A lot of good work is carried out by people in Cumbria without anyone noticing, and now is the chance for them to receive the recognition they deserve.

“We are lucky in Cumbria with the level of commitment to voluntary and community groups. We have around 3,000 organisations in Cumbria registered with the Charity Commission with 17 per cent of Cumbrians either employed or active volunteers.

“Cumbria County Council very much wants to encourage community work and volunteering in our society. Third sector organisations cover the full cross section of society. They engage with large scale environmental projects, supporting schools, police and health care services; they provide specialist self-help and expert advice and support; they run community events, sports, culture and arts projects; they also provide localised resident support and activism. They can be geographic, special interest, single purpose or a combination.

“Many of the organisations in the county are founded by groups of like-minded individuals with common goals and aims who are driven by a desire to make a difference to their local areas.

“I believe we should all support and celebrate the work of the huge number of third sector organisations and these awards are the opportunity to recognise the vital roles they play in the lives of Cumbria residents.

“We hope events like this will boost communities and allow us to work together even better in the future.”