National Trust staff in Wiltshire are being given February 29 – Leap Day – off to carry out voluntary work in their local communities.
They will join more than 5,000 National Trust employees across the UK who are being allowed to use this year’s ‘extra’ day wisely by getting involved in a range of good causes.
Called Local Leap, the day celebrates the importance of volunteering to the Trust, which itself enjoys the support of more than 62,000 volunteers, 1,500-plus of them in Wiltshire, as it continues to build links with local communities.
With more than 500 National Trust employees based in Swindon at the Trust’s central office, the local area will be one of the main beneficiaries of the initiative
Four years ago charity staff were given Leap Day day off to make green improvements at home – prompting national debate about who ‘owns’ the extra day in leap years.
Local Leap also marks the centenary year of the death of one of the National Trust’s founders, Octavia Hill, who was passionate about the role that volunteering could play within society.
Local Leap volunteering activities in Wiltshire will cover a huge range: litter picking in town centres, tree planting and scrub clearance, decorating hospices and schools, helping charities complete grant applications and developing local campaigns to save a derelict building among others.
National Trust director-general Fiona Reynolds, who will be volunteering with her local Riding for the Disabled stables, said: “The Trust knows first-hand how important volunteering is. We simply couldn’t function without our volunteers.
“The sheer spread of the places we look after means that we have close links with communities the length and breadth of the country.
“Through Local Leap we want to get to know our local communities even better, and build new relationships into the future.’
Additionally, as part of the Leap Day activities, the National Trust is asking for the general public to get involved and join any of its properties or places of interest, as volunteers either on February 29 as a ‘taster’ session, or to go along and sign up do voluntary work anytime in the future.
Contact Richard Watson on richard.watson@nationaltrust.org.uk or visit http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer for more information.
