EVOC is visiting organisations across the capital ahead of International Charity Day
The work of charities in the capital is set to be celebrated.
Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations’ Council (EVOC) staff, including a very elderly black Labrador called Sally, will deliver thank you cards to voluntary organisations across the city today (Tuesday 4 September).
The event is being held ahead of International Charity Day, which takes place tomorrow (5 September) in the year that EVOC is celebrating its 150th anniversary.
The team will broadcast their journey throughout the day in a series of live Twitter video streams and provide information and insights into the charities that will be featured.
The event is part of a yearlong programme of activities and events to mark the milestone anniversary. During this time, EVOC has gone from providing poor relief and improving sanitation in Victorian Edinburgh to supporting charities, community and voluntary organisations to make life fairer for people from all walks of life.
Many of the charities that will form part of the route, have their origins in EVOC and as part of uncovering Edinburgh’s rich heritage of benevolent organisations, the team will be uncovering and explaining these links.
Lucy Ridley, EVOC 150 programme manager, said: “EVOC has been supporting Edinburgh’s residents through its work with charities for 150 years. What a lot of people don’t know is that organisations such as Volunteer Edinburgh and the Edinburgh branch of Citizens Advice Bureau were originally projects within EVOC.
“This journey is a great way to recognise these special relationships, and also to thank the people in these organisations for the work they do.”
Ben Macpherson MSP, international development minister, backed International Day of Charity on a visit to Volunteer Edinburgh this week.
He said: “Days like the International Day of Charity are good chance for all of us to recognise and celebrate the contribution that charities make and that the staff and volunteers who work for and campaign for charities make. The difference that they make to people, and the contribution that they make to building a fairer and more inclusive society and towards the shared aim of social justice.”
The journey will start at the EVOC offices on Ashley Place from 9.30am and the route will cover charities based in Leith, Stockbridge and the New Town.
