About CVS

About CVS
West Lancashire Council for Voluntary Services is a charity, set up in 1973, and is the key infrastructure organisation for voluntary and community groups in West Lancashire.
Our main activities are:
- Helping local people to set up and develop voluntary and community groups, and network with other organisations
- Recruiting volunteers for groups
- Providing information and support to voluntary organisations
- Representing voluntary and community groups to statutory and other organisations, and partnerships
Our registered charity number is 1039563. We are also a company limited by guarantee – registration no: 2940823.
More Info
CVS team
- Jill Bradley : Management Adviser
- Nicci Sutton-Kelsall: Business Development Manager
- Maria Wiltshire: Operations Manager
- Janice Howard : Volunteering Development Officer
- Gemma Cummins: Volunteering Support Officer
- Debbie Shepton : Communications Lead
- Dot Fowell : Community Development Officer
- Louise Malone: Funding Advice Officer
A Council of Management is nominated and elected every year by the membership. Our current Council of Management is:
President: Mayor, West Lancashire Borough Council
Honorary Officers
Chair: Vic Citarella
Vice Chair: Paul White
Treasurer:
Other Directors
- Ruth Runacus
- Sian Jay
- John Davis
Nominated Reps (Non Voting)
WLBC reps: Councillor Adrian Owens
CC representative (LCC): Councillor Alice Jones
Our core values
West Lancs CVS puts the interests of voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise member (and prospective member) organisations first.
We work to a set of strong values:
- Expertise: Knowledge, skills and experience are used to provide a support service which is member-focused and beneficial to the communities of West Lancashire.
- Trust: We operate with integrity, honesty and transparency. The trust of members and partners is integral to our way of working.
- Mutuality: The environment WLCVS creates is one of collaboration and co-operation between itself, members and partners based on mutual understanding, learning and respect.
- Ethical behaviour: As an organisation WLCVS expects to be ethical, compassionate and inclusive in leadership, employment, contracting and procurement.
What we do…
- Inform: Provide information, advice and support services to (member and prospective member) third sector organisations and associated not-for-profit activities.
- Develop: Help local people set up, develop and maintain not-for-profit groups and businesses.
- Network: Facilitate member organisations to build networks of common interest and social benefit.
- Volunteer: Promote volunteering. Recruit, train and support volunteers. Support and develop volunteer involving organisations. Match volunteers to volunteering opportunities.
- Influence: Support communities to have a voice and widen participation to include more localities and groups. Strengthen the third sector influence in local decision making.
- Represent: and be accountable to, third sector groups and networks in discussions, negotiations and consultations with statutory, public organisations and relevant partnerships.
- Champion: third sector activities in the Borough, publicise evidence of community benefit and showcase success.
Why the sunflower?
According to the Eden Project in Cornwall,
‘the sunflower is not a single bloom, it’s hundreds of little flowers that combine together to create something that’s greater than the sum of its parts’
We think this neatly sums up the role of the CVS in linking up and serving member groups, to be ‘better together’.



