The Coronation in May will give us the opportunity to celebrate volunteering and the work our local voluntary sector (VCS) does to keep Croydon’s community spirit alive and well in the face of great challenges.

Prince Charles visited the CVA Resource Centre in 2012 after the riots and 10 years later, after becoming King, he used his first Christmas message to acknowledge how life-affirming a role carers, volunteers and local community groups play across the country.

Next week a cross-section of VCS groups will meet with Croydon’s Mayor, Jason Perry, to begin work on a reset of the relationship between Croydon Council and a local VCS that has been hit hard by the borough’s financial crisis.

Croydon boasts a proud tradition of volunteering and enterprise across its communities and, if the Mayor’s reset creates a strong framework supporting innovation and investment in our local VCS, that tradition will show itself again as Croydon builds back – from its streets, neighbourhoods and local communities upwards.

See here for the VCS position statement sent by CVA to the Mayor in advance of next week’s meeting.