Volunteering Matters announces new President

We are delighted to announce that Lord Freud will be the new President of Volunteering Matters. He succeeds Lord Levy, who has made an outstanding contribution in his twenty years as President.

Lord Freud has already played a key role at Volunteering Matters, founding the award winning intergenerational ‘Grandmentors’ project, which matches volunteers over age 50 with young care leavers. He is a former Minister of State for Welfare Reform.

Oonagh Aitken, Chief Executive of Volunteering Matters said: “Lord Levy has provided continuous expert and enthusiastic support for Volunteering Matters for two decades. From hosting events to regularly offering invaluable advice, I have greatly enjoyed working with him in creating a robust and modern charity, which now engages 20,000 volunteers supporting 85,000 people.

“Lord Freud has been a game-changer, helping our volunteer managers to launch Grandmentors in 10 areas across the UK. As a former Government minister he has a tremendous understanding of the voluntary sector and will enable Volunteering Matters to go from strength to strength.”

Lord Freud said: “I am delighted to have been chosen as President. I believe volunteering can change our society for the better and, in particular, can be the key to transforming the outlook for the most vulnerable people in our communities. I look forward to working with the whole organisation to help to create projects that will have that transformational impact.”

Lord Levy said: “It has been an enormous honour to serve as President for twenty years. And I feel that now is the time to move on. Volunteering Matters is the sector leader in all things volunteering, making projects which are impactful and rewarding for individuals and communities. I wish to thank our dedicated staff and volunteers that have made this possible. I wish Volunteering Matters continued great success for the future.”