VOLUNTEERS from West Devon gathered together recently as part of Make a Difference Day (MAD), to demonstrate that volunteering can be good for the health.
To mark the day, volunteering events were held from October 18 to November 1.
This year West Devon Volunteer Centres promoted 'Volunteering for a healthy lifestyle' and teamed up with West Devon Connect outreach services and the Walk and Talk scheme, which encourages walking for health within the local community.
Hannah Colston, West Devon Borough Council sports development officer, said: 'Our walks are all about the social occasion they bring to people's diaries in addition to the physical activity benefits.
'We meet regularly come rain or shine and it's never a dull moment. The volunteers are fantastic and without them, we would not be the buzzing scheme we are.'
Billie Burnett, Tavistock Volunteer Centre co-ordinator and Barbara Davies, Tavistock Walk and Talk volunteer walk leader, are pictured 'binning' bars of chocolate to show that volunteering leads to better health, a greater sense of well-being and less of a desire to eat chocolate.
A survey recently found that 15% of volunteers said that volunteering has led them to eat less chocolate, a third of 18 to 24-year-old smokers say volunteering helps them smoke less and around 62% of over 65s said volunteering reduces stress.
Ian Chapman, BBC Radio Devon's Agent4Change, said that he is keen to build partnerships with organisations across Devon and to encourage 16 to 25-year-olds to get involved with events in the community.
For more information, contact him at [email protected]">[email protected]
New walkers and walk leaders are always welcome, for more details contact Hannah on 01822 813628.
For information on volunteering, contact 01822 618224 or visit the centre at 5 King Street, Tavistock, between 10am and 2pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.