85 Years Solving Problems in Peterborough

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This week, volunteers from Citizens Advice Peterborough have been celebrating the organisation’s 85th birthday.

Set up in early September 1939, just after the start of the Second World War, its dedicated volunteers have been solving people's problems in Peterborough and beyond ever since!

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As war was declared by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, temporary offices were set up across the country in cafes, church halls, private homes and air-raid shelters. A converted horse box was even used in some bombed areas of London to ensure people still had access to important information in their hour of need.

Back then, Citizens Advice dealt with issues solely related to the conflict, such as: evacuations, rationing, advice allowances and tracing missing service personnel or Prisoners of War.

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Peterborough got its branch of Citizens Advice in 1939 too. Soon, its volunteers were dealing with 100 enquiries per week.

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A newspaper report from the 1940s stated, “the volunteers give themselves freely because they feel the job is worth doing and brings its own reward”. It’s exactly the same for volunteers today, although demand has increased greatly over the decades. Now, the charity receives an astonishing 1500-2000 calls per month from residents in Peterborough.

New volunteers are always welcome and desperately needed! So, if you have an hour or two to spare each week, why not get in touch?

A range of roles can be matched to your skills and availability. Life today is undoubtedly more complex and hardship, arguably, even greater than when the organisation was set up in 1939.

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Volunteer in 2024

Citizens Advice urgently needs an army of new volunteers to help it deal with increasing demand for its services.

Can you help make a difference? More details here: www.citapeterborough.org.uk/volunteer-with-us.

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