Celebrating 80 Years of Citizens Advice

To mark 80 years of advice and celebrate the impact of volunteers, staff and trustees – past and present at Citizens Advice Elmbridge West, we have recently held a number of special events. 

 

80th Birthday Party at Citizens Advice Elmbridge West

On Friday 20th September, at our offices at the Elmbridge Hub in Walton on Thames, we hosted a birthday party event for charity partners, volunteers, staff and trustees.

Margaret Bourne

Citizens Advice Elmbridge West – Chief Executive Margaret Bourne opened the event, with the Mayor of Elmbridge – Mary Sheldon and Melanie Bussicott – Head of Community Services – Elmbridge Borough Council, both speaking at the event.

Mayor of Elmbridge
Melanie Bussicott

Guests were invited to review the history of Citizens Advice with a timeline exhibition, recording key events and impact since 1939 on display.

Attending Walton on Thames – Heritage Day

On Saturday 21st September we were delighted to attend Heritage Day in Walton on Thames, a fabulous community event organised by WOTTA.  We are keen to continuously develop our links and improve accessibility within the local community.

As a part of our celebrations we ran a stall for the day at the Bridge Street fair. It was a fantastic day and we thoroughly enjoyed being part of it. Thank you to all the volunteers and those who entered the competition to win the bear!

Congratulations to the lucky prize winner!

 

 

 

 

 

If you are looking for free, confidential, impartial and independent advice, for details of our advice sessions please click here.

If you are interested in volunteering with Citizens Advice Elmbridge West, please contact us on 01932 248660 to find out details about the latest opportunities or visit our jobs page here. 

Celebrating our Volunteers

The Citizens Advice service started almost 80 years ago on the eve of the Second World War and is supported by 22,000 volunteers across England and Wales.

Marking Volunteers’ Week, running from 1 June to 7 June 2019, we would like to thank our volunteers at Citizens Advice Elmbridge West for their hugely valuable contribution, supporting the communities of Walton on Thames, Hersham and Weybridge, in providing residents with the knowledge and advice to help solve the problems they are facing in life.

“Volunteers are the cornerstone of our operations and provide essential support giving our clients information and advice, keeping the service running smoothly, raising funds, identifying local and national issues and helping with the strategic direction of the organisation.”

Margaret Bourne – Chief Executive, Citizens Advice Elmbridge West.

Making an Impact

Citizens Advice Elmbridge West is proud to have currently 50 volunteers supporting the operation and delivery of the charity’s advice services. The volunteers  last year helped 3,676 people with 15,473 unique client problems, such as debt, housing, benefit, domestic abuse and employment issues. They made 27,657 contacts with clients directly or to third parties on their behalf.

Why volunteer?

Nationally 22,000 highly trained volunteers support the delivery of our service. Our volunteers come from a range of backgrounds and find volunteering rewarding, challenging and fun. Here what some of our valued volunteers say.

Rob F – volunteer for over 15 years said: “I volunteer here because every day is different, there are always new problems to tackle – it’s certainly never boring.”

Chris A – “Over the years, I feel I’ve got more out of it than I give. I’ve got new skills, like computer skills. It’s all about the clients, really.”

Alexis – “I work here because the people are wonderful.”

John E – “The satisfying thing is, when you can get something practical done for people, help them resolve their issue.”

Join our team!

Now is a great time to join us if you are interested in volunteering with Citizens Advice Elmbridge West. We have the following volunteering opportunities available.

For more information about the types of roles we offer visit the national Citizens Advice website. If you’re interested in finding out more about volunteering with Citizens Advice Elmbridge West contact the team by email via enquiries@caew.org.uk or call 01932 248660

Celebrating Citizens Advice 80th Birthday in Walton on Thames

To celebrate Citizens Advice 80th birthday and serving our local community since 1942 we will be running a community event during the week commencing 16th September 2019. Please keep an eye on our news page and social media channels Facebook and Twitter for more information.

 

Celebrating 80 years of Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice plays a vital role to people in Elmbridge. Providing independent, confidential, impartial and free advice and guidance about a wide range of issues, our staff and volunteers can make a huge difference to people’s lives.

Citizens Advice was founded on 4th September 1939; in the days after World War 2 broke out and 80 years later we are still helping people with complicated and intimidating problems.

Supporting the Local Community

Your local branch, Citizens Advice Elmbridge West, based at the Elmbridge Community Hub in Walton on Thames, supports the communities of Walton on Thames, Weybridge and Hersham and has been operational in the town since 1942.

Share Your Memories

Chief Executive of Citizen Advice Gillan Guy says, “It’s quite something that after being here for everyone for 80 years, the service remains free, confidential and impartial – something that is more important than ever for people in such uncertain times.”

In the run up to our 80th birthday celebrations we would love to hear from people in our local community, who have memories and stories of the Citizens Advice Service and how it has helped them.

Tell your story or share your pictures of Citizens Advice in Walton on Thames over the last 80 years, by calling us on 01932 248660 or by emailing our Community Fundraising Manager on faye.curtis-kay@caew.org.uk

We are planning a public celebration event in September in the week running up to Walton Heritage Day more details to follow.