How many of us know very much about the work of the voluntary sector. Look in the Yellow Pages, and you will be surprised at the wide range of activities they cover: from Charity Shops to Counselling,Welfare and Youth Sports and Community Groups. Most of these are self-supporting, but the services they provide are usually free, regardless of peoples' ability to pay.

They are mostly staffed and managed by volunteers, with a few paid workers. In many instances, even the paid workers are part-time, and salaries are not high. In some cases, the work requires skills, which can only be learnt through training. Volunrteers who work for the CAB or Samaritans, for example, have to be trained, before they are allowed to deal with the public.

Many voluntary organisations have to maintain a regular service. The Samaritans, for example, are open day and night. So volunteers have to commit themselves to a time table to keep the service running - sometimes, as in the Samartitans, to unsocial hours. Voluntary work requires commitment and dedication, and it is fortunate that there so many people who are motivated by the requisite sense of public duty.

There is always a shortage of volunteers, and new volunteers are always welcome. So, if you are young and unemployed, and want something to put on your CV, why not try a spell doing voluntary work? If you have children, you can help out with Scouts or the local football team. If you are young, physically fit, have a sense of adventure and live close to the Sea, you may be able to find a place on the crew of the local life boat. If you are older, and are worried about feeling undervalued by society, when you retire, why not consider a commitment to a few hours of voluntary work every week in a Charity shop? If you are a professional, your experience and contacts may make you useful as a Director. There are so many varied opportunities, that there should be some voluntary job to suit everybody. The work may be unpaid, but it is rewarding, and there is often a good social life that goes with it..

In recent years, successive governments, in their relentless drive to cut the cost of public sevices, have moved away from the direct provision of public services, and transferred their resources to the voluntary sector. So, voluntary organisations are invited to tender for work which used to be done by Councils and other organisations or professions. The Legal Aid system, for example, has been truncated, and a lot of the work that used to be done by solicitors is now carried out by the CAB. Local Councils, in particular, now regard themselves more as the commissioners than providers of services - particularly in the field of leisure, recreation and social services. Some areas of youthwork and housing, for example, are often contracted out to Detached Youthwork Projects.

Funding is always a problem. Volunteers may be unpaid, but every voluntary society has to pay for its premises, insurance, paid workers and electricity, telephones and heating. Very few voluntary organisations are able to run themselves on their own income. So, if the service is not commissioned and paid for by a local council, bids have to be made to funding Charities and the Lottery. This involves a lot of hard work, because every voluntary organisation has to compete with others for scarce funds, and one never knows whether one's own charity is going to be viable from one year to the next. Even councils have to review their contracts, and so one cannot rely on them for future funding either. This can lead to uncertainty and demoralisation. So the next time you see an appeal, give generously. If you see your local councillors hesitating on a vote to fund an organisation which has a sound reputation for service, let them know where your sympathies lie. You never know, you might need its services some day!