Press Releases
Cambridge CAB, 31 August 2006
Cambridgeshire Citizens Advice Bureaux take part in UK-wide Advice Week
Cambridgeshire Citizens Advice Bureaux will highlight the key role they play a charities in the community as part of Advice Week 2006 11-17 September.
Advice Week 2006 is organised by Citizens Advice – the national charity and umbrella organisation for all bureaux - and takes place under the banner “Support the charity for your community”.
CAB volunteers around the country provided 10 million hours of free, confidential, independent and impartial advice.
But MORI research shows that only a third of the population know that Citizens Advice Bureaux are charities that rely on support both from volunteers and financially from the communities which they serve.
Sandra Wilson Income Maximisation Project Development Officer said: “Advice Week 2006 gives us the ideal opportunity to raise awareness amongst local people of the work that we do and of how we can help them.
“But it also gives us the chance to ask them to help us by using some of their spare time to volunteer, and to remind local businesses that we also need their support.”
The Citizens Advice service is one of the UK’s largest voluntary organisations as well as one of the best known in the UK – 95% of people have heard of the organisation and more than half have used a CAB at some stage in their life.
The organisation dealt with nearly 5.3 million problems last year, with bureaux delivering high quality advice and information on just about everything from consumer problems, debt and benefit issues to housing, employment and legal matters. Advice is free, confidential and impartial and open to everybody.
MORI research has also found that almost four in ten people who use a Citizens Advice Bureau are financially better off as a result.
The partnership of the 4 Cambridgeshire Bureaux created the Income Maximisation Project that has helped over 1400 local people last year. It raised over £2.5 million in much-needed additional income for local people and dealt with over £3 million worth of debt. It also helped many people rebuild their lives at times of crisis.
Across the county information will be sent to all libraries to help people understand that they can access our advice in many ways now – not just by walking into the bureaux.
All libraries in the county will be supplied with the CAB reference book Citizens Advice Handbook. Which is full of advice in an easy and accessible format. If this is not able to answer your query the computers in libraries and local internet access points information can be used to access our local advice hub www.cabadvicehub.org.uk as well as the national web site www.adviceguide.org.uk
In addition we offer a countywide general telephone advice line 0844 8487979 and a countywide debt and benefit advice line 0845 241 2555.
Rachel Talbot, CEO of Cambridge CSB added: “The partnership working across the county is making such a difference to the community – we are extremely proud of the work we do. If you would like to find out more about volunteering, please call our national volunteer hotline on 08451 264264 or come along to the bureau.”
The bureaux in the county are based in Ely, St Neots, Cambridge, Huntingdon and Fenland. Their addresses and opening times are available in local libraries and via the internet.