There has been a CVS in St Albans District since 1976, although for most of the first 20 years it was managed and run on a small scale by volunteers. Significant change came about in 1995 when tripartite funding was granted from St Albans District Council, HCC Social Services and West Herts Health Authority enabling the appointment of a small staff team.

Since then many of the aspirations of those early dedicated volunteers have become a reality. The CVS boldly went where others had not been before! We now employ 8 members of staff and have a regular team of up to 30 volunteers helping us deliver services to voluntary and community groups across the district and to the wider Hertfordshire community. Ensuring we realise our mission to promote, support and develop the sector keeps us very busy, delivering many services and project activities.

Our accredited Volunteer Centre sits at the heart of our organisation, attracting more than 1200 visitors a year, helped by our ‘high street’ location in Catherine Street, however the work we do to develop and build the capacity of voluntary and community groups is as important, for without healthy, sustainable organisations there would be no volunteering opportunities. Our advice and guidance services along with our training programmes are vital for a vibrant, modern sector. We also have a role to play in the setting up and steering of new projects and then withdrawing when they are up and running.

The ‘behind the scenes’ work of the CVS raises awareness of the issues and value of the voluntary sector and we have an important part to play in developing relationships and partnerships with statutory bodies and all types of voluntary organisations and community groups. Through this work we can pass information and views up and down the chain. In 2005 the CVS was asked to chair the steering group charged with developing a Compact for the District to ensure that the voluntary sector is given due recognition as an integral part of a diverse community. Our work with cross-county and regional partners helps us to help you understand the ‘bigger’ picture.

We recognise the need to create opportunities to collect views and share news and we run a range of networking lunches, events and workshops to do this. We also provide a huge range of resources for reference, research and information sharing including the Really Useful Guide for the elderly and the Really Useful Spaces guide, helping communities identify and benefit from venue space. We are working on ideas for a new guide to inspire young people and another to support businesses working in the community.

In 2005, the CVS developed this website, modernised its image and responded to member feedback by changing its name to the Centre for Voluntary Service. We were also awarded Investor in People status.

In 2006 the CVS was proud to be celebrate its 30th Anniversary.

In 2007 we strengthened the voice of the voluntary sector by hosting the first Voluntary Sector Conference.

In 2008 we welcomed new members to our board with a strong business background and focused on the quality of our service and operation.

In 2009 we streamlined our operation to save money and shared our top tips with members. We strengthened ties with the business sector through the project 'Connect St Albans' and initiated Dragons' Apprentice to raise money.

Please click here to see our final accounts for 08/09.

2010? watch this space!

CVS St Albans Home Page