The Home Office has today awarded grants worth £1,400 to volunteering organisations in the UK, with the aim of improving opportunities for individuals and communities.

The National Mentoring Network and Volunteering England (NMN/VE) have been given £800,000 to jointly develop a national mentoring and befriending body, while the WRVS received £600,000 to promote the involvement of over-65s within volunteering.

Charities Minister, Fiona Mactaggart, said that the grants are to help realise the benefits volunteers can bring to both individuals and communities: “There is vast untapped potential for volunteering in our communities and these grants will help release it. WRVS will work on involving older people who are among the least likely to volunteer, but can use their experience to change their communities for the better.

“NMN/VE will develop a co-ordinating body that will work loosely with the four regional mentoring and befriending networks funded by the Home Office in London, the North West, the West Midlands and the East Midlands to provide valuable support to the important work of mentoring and befriending initiatives,” Mactaggart continued.