Make a New Year’s resolution to help us promote better sexual health, says Somerset HIV charity
Wednesday 16 January 2013
HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust is calling on the people of Somerset to make it their new year’s resolution to join the charity’s local team of volunteers in 2013. Staff from the charity’s centre in Somerset, which is based on Albemarle Road in Taunton, are asking people to get involved by helping them to promote better sexual health and provide people locally with information about HIV.
New figures released by the Health Protection Agency in November show that 303 people were diagnosed with HIV in the South West in 2011, an increase of 24% from 2010. The total number of people living with HIV in the South West in 2011 rose to 4,133.
To mark the New Year, Terrence Higgins Trust’s Taunton centre is calling for anyone to get in touch who can spare as little as three hours a month to support the centre’s work. Opportunities on offer for volunteers range from providing information about HIV and sexual health in bars, pubs and clubs, to helping the team man information stands in shopping centres and other locations across the county. It could even be as simple as helping put together some condom packs for people at greatest risk of infection.
Martin Jevon, Service Manager for Terrence Higgins Trust in Somerset, said “Volunteers are at the very heart of Terrence Higgins Trust and we would simply not be able to do the work we do in the region without them. There are loads of volunteering opportunities on offer in 2013, so why not make it your New Year’s resolution to get involved. In return for offering us your time as a volunteer, we will provide all the training and support you need. Volunteering isn’t just a great chance to make a difference locally, it’s also a fantastic way to make new friends and develop skills.”
For further information about volunteering with Terrence Higgins Trust in Somerset, or to request an application pack please call (01823) 327076 or email martin.jevon@tht.org.uk.