Sam Rowlands MS for North Wales has urged Welsh Government to work more closely with the voluntary sector to help with recruitment and retention of volunteers.
Speaking in the Senedd, Mr Rowlands, Shadow Minister for Local Government asked Jane Hutt, Minister for Social Justice what support Welsh Government was providing to the voluntary sector in North Wales.
The Minister said she had agreed funding for Third Sector Support Wales of £6.98 million per year for three years with just over £1 million of this going to the six county voluntary councils across North Wales.
Mr Rowlands thanked the Minister for her response and added:
Last month, I had the pleasure of visiting Freshfields animal rescue centre in Nebo near Caernarfon. They carry out fantastic work in supporting abandoned and neglected animals across North Wales, a great example of the voluntary sector doing their bit in our communities.
Three things struck me from the visit while I was there. The first is the increasing demand for animal rescue centres and the support for those abandoned animals. The second was that a number of animal rescue centres fell between the cracks when it came to COVID funding over recent years, and they were not able to access the funding that perhaps other organisations were able to. A third area is some of the challenges at the moment in terms of recruiting and retaining volunteers.
On that point, Minister, I wonder if there is an opportunity for the Welsh Government to work more closely with the voluntary sector to ensure that recruitment and retention of volunteers is able to happen in a better way. Perhaps that can be done by highlighting some of the great work that volunteers do in our communities, making such a difference to the places where we live.
Ms Hutt said the point about recruiting and retaining volunteers was crucial and they were looking towards supporting the county voluntary councils which co-ordinate and recruit volunteers and support them.
Sam Rowlands AS yn galw am wneud mwy i dynnu sylw at waith gwirfoddol yng nghymunedau'r gogledd
Mae Sam Rowlands, yr AS dros Ogledd Cymru, wedi annog Llywodraeth Cymru i gydweithio'n agosach â'r sector gwirfoddol i helpu ym maes recriwtio a chadw gwirfoddolwyr.
Wrth siarad yn y Senedd, gofynnodd Mr Rowlands, Gweinidog Llywodraeth Leol yr Wrthblaid, i Jane Hutt, y Gweinidog Cyfiawnder Cymdeithasol pa gefnogaeth yr oedd Llywodraeth Cymru yn ei darparu i'r sector gwirfoddol yn y gogledd.
Dywedodd y Gweinidog ei bod wedi cytuno ar gyllid ar gyfer Cefnogi Trydydd Sector Cymru o £6.98 miliwn y flwyddyn am dair blynedd gydag ychydig dros £1 miliwn o hyn yn mynd i'r chwe chyngor gwirfoddol sirol ledled y gogledd.
Diolchodd Mr Rowlands i'r Gweinidog am ei hymateb ac ychwanegodd:
Fis diwethaf, cefais y pleser o ymweld â chanolfan achub anifeiliaid Freshfields yn Nebo ger Caernarfon. Maen nhw'n gwneud gwaith gwych yn cefnogi anifeiliaid sydd wedi'u gadael a'u hesgeuluso ar draws y gogledd, enghraifft wych o'r sector gwirfoddol yn gwneud eu rhan yn ein cymunedau.
Fe wnaeth tri pheth fy nharo o'r ymweliad tra roeddwn i yno. Y cyntaf yw'r galw cynyddol am ganolfannau achub anifeiliaid a'r gefnogaeth i'r rhai sy'n cael eu gadael. Yr ail oedd bod nifer o ganolfannau achub anifeiliaid wedi disgyn rhwng dwy stôl pan ddaeth hi i gyllid COVID dros y blynyddoedd diwethaf, wrth iddyn nhw fethu cael gafael ar y cyllid yr oedd sefydliadau eraill efallai'n gallu manteisio arno. Y trydydd yw rhai o'r heriau ar hyn o bryd o ran recriwtio a chadw gwirfoddolwyr.
Ar y pwynt hwn, Weinidog, tybed a oes cyfle i Lywodraeth Cymru weithio'n agosach gyda'r sector gwirfoddol i sicrhau bod recriwtio a chadw gwirfoddolwyr yn gallu digwydd mewn ffordd well. Efallai y gellir gwneud hynny drwy dynnu sylw at rywfaint o'r gwaith gwych mae gwirfoddolwyr yn ei wneud yn ein cymunedau, gan wneud cymaint o wahaniaeth i'r llefydd lle rydyn ni'n byw.
Dywedodd Ms Hutt bod y pwynt ynglŷn â recriwtio a chadw gwirfoddolwyr yn hanfodol a'u bod am gefnogi'r cynghorau gwirfoddol sirol sy'n cydlynu a recriwtio gwirfoddolwyr a'u cefnogi.
