THE volunteer services in Okehampton and Tavistock have united. The new organisation, which supports the voluntary and community sector across the borough, is called West Devon Community and Voluntary Services. Chief executive Karen Nolan believes that creating a single organisation will improve sustainability and provide a better service to voluntary and community organisations. She said: 'Our local groups are increasingly being called upon to deliver more services, which means finding volunteers as well as dealing with the dreaded red tape. 'It's our job to help them and we are now able to dedicate more resources to support and develop groups.' West Devon CVS will maintain offices in Okehampton and Tavistock, both continuing to host volunteer centres providing services to volunteers and volunteer involving organisations. Jan Simpson, who is developing CVS services, said: 'Trustees from local voluntary and community groups are already benefiting from a series of training sessions funded by Awards for All. 'We have already run three successful sessions and seven more are planned between now and the end of the year. 'Most of the training will be taking place in village venues so that people in our more rural locations can easily participate. 'This is an opportunity for trustees to improve the knowledge and skills they need to manage their organisation and raise awareness of changes in legislation.' All voluntary and community groups in West Devon are welcome as members of the CVS and, as such, will be able to take advantage of any CVS and Volunteer Centre service. For more information contact the CVS in either Okehampton (01837 53392) or Tavistock (01822 618224).
