Waterford Volunteer Centre moves to premises in the heart of city
Mayor of Waterford City & County Cllr Seamus Ryan, with committee members, speakers and guests, at the the official opening of the new Waterford Volunteer Centre. Photo: Joe Evans
Waterford Volunteer Centre (WVC) officially opened its new premises on O’Connell Street on Tuesday, December 2. WVC’s move from Manor Village is hoped to provide increased visibility and integration in the heart of the city.
Speaking to the Waterford News & Star, Waterford City and County Council mayor Seamus Ryan said the new location would help the volunteer centre “grow and help them establish themselves here in the city".
“Their new premises is located in the Waterford cultural quarter, which, to me, is a natural home for the volunteer network.”
WVC was set up in 2021 and is part of Ireland’s national volunteer centre framework. WVC have 2,681 registered volunteers that support 284 organisations through their work. Their volunteers represent over 40 nationalities.
Volunteer Ireland’s Development and Capacity Building Manager Zsé Varga paid tribute to the founding members of the board, including WVC director and former chairperson Catherine Power.
“In 2020, I was already meeting a group of really committed people who wanted to set up a volunteer centre that's full-time, spearheaded by Catherine Power. This was not a new idea. This was something that Catherine had been dreaming of and working for since the mid-2000s, so we are talking about 20 years in the making.
“It didn't just come from a vacuum. It came from a lot of preparation and work.”
Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, Jerry Buttimer, sent a two-minute video message congratulating WVC on the opening of their new building.
WVC board chairperson John Hawkes told the News & Star: “Volunteering and community development is the cornerstone of what we do.
“If you didn't have volunteers, if you didn’t have community groups, society would be in danger of collapsing. If you didn’t have people running the GAA, if you didn't have people running disability groups, if you didn't have people working with Travellers, working with carers… We've got no complaints at all about the support we get from the Department, Volunteer Ireland and the local authority.”
Hawkes said keeping the volunteer group well-resourced with appropriate staffing levels still remains a challenge, with the centre unable to operate 24/7.
The centre is currently open for those without pre-made appointments on Tuesday and Thursday, between 11am-12:30pm and 1:30pm- 4:30pm.
