 A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at our first official Coffee, Cake & Collaboration event at Whitewell Bottom Community Centre! ☕🍰
Despite the unpredictable weather, it was fantastic to see so many passionate organisations come together to connect, share ideas, and support one another across Burnley, Pendle & Rossendale.  Our commitment and dedication to volunteering in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale has once again been proven with this latest award of the VCQA from NAVCA.
 Click 'read more' to access the latest report from the Lancashire & South Cumbria Integrated Care Board's Small Groups Grants Programme which is administered on their behalf by BPRCVS.
Check out what impact the grants programme has had on the communities of Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale. The report totals the latest outcomes reported by VCFSE groups in receipt of project grants. We also include a project brief, how much was awarded, and a case study for each project receiving grants from this programme. The report is available in both video and PDF format. The January/February Get-Togethers brought together 25 participants from 16 organisations for Coffee, Cake & Collaboration sessions hosted by BPRCVS’ Volunteering Hub Team. The sessions celebrated achievements and shared ambitions for 2026:
  Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Council for Voluntary Service (BPRCVS) is proud to launch a brand-new, dedicated volunteering website which makes it easier to promote and access volunteer opportunities.
Get Volunteering puts volunteering in our local communities at your fingertips. It is a brand-new website that provides benefits for both local groups and organisations looking to recruit volunteers, and for local people who are interested in giving something back to their community and getting started on their volunteering journey.  The BPRCVS Social Prescribing Team recently welcomed new trainee doctors from UCLan to shadow their work in the community.
The placement gave the trainees a first-hand insight into the referral process and how social prescribers support clients to overcome barriers. Social prescribers take a holistic, non-clinical approach, helping people access the services and support they need.  New year, new faces, and more ways to get involved in volunteering!
From an upcoming volunteer meetup to team updates and opportunities across the area – it’s all in the latest Hub Newsletter.  Our latest Annual Impact Report is out now!
Covering the period of April 2024 to March 2025, you'll discover how many hundreds of groups and thousands of people across Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale have been supported by BPRCVS. Click read more to check it out.  The Cancer Awareness Ambassador project is looking for volunteers and work-based champions from hard-to-reach communities to help:
 BPRCVS is delighted to announce the launch of Helping Hands Lottery, an exciting new fundraising initiative for good causes in our local communities. The lottery will be a great way for people to support local good causes and get the chance to win fabulous cash prizes!
Click 'read more' to discover how to sign up for our upcoming launch event.
In August, our teams across East Lancashire continued to make a difference in people’s lives by:
The Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) Small Grants Programme continues to make a real difference across Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale. Delivered locally by BPRCVS, the scheme funds grassroots projects that improve health, wellbeing, and community connections.   Marking 90 Years of Service to Burnley, Pendle & Rossendale
In a world that has grown increasingly complex, uncertain, and at times fragmented, the role of community has taken on new weight. For BPRCVS, community has never been a buzzword, but a bedrock principle. Over the last 90 years, from the Great Depression to the Digital Age, its commitment to grassroots care and collaboration has remained unchanged. The 2010s were a decade of paradoxes. On one hand, we saw unprecedented technological advancement - smartphones in every pocket, instant access to global knowledge, social media bringing us closer (and sometimes further apart). On the other, many people across East Lancashire and beyond were experiencing a growing sense of disconnection, marginalisation, and economic strain.  Support Burnley, Pendle & Rossendale Council for Voluntary Service (BPRCVS) without spending an extra penny!
When you shop online for groceries, gifts, clothes, or even book a holiday, over 8,000+ retailers – including Tesco, M&S, John Lewis, eBay, Argos, ASOS, Booking.com and more – will donate to BPRCVS for FREE through easyfundraising. As the new millennium dawned, the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Council for Voluntary Service (BPRCVS) stood at a crossroads carrying forward the legacy of civic compassion built over seven decades, while stepping into an era defined by digital change, shifting public policy, and growing social complexity. The 2000s were anything but predictable. Across the UK, the charity and voluntary sector underwent a period of rapid transformation, driven by New Labour’s focus on community cohesion, public sector reform, and the increasing role of civil society in delivering frontline services. Amidst this national recalibration, BPRCVS emerged not as a passive bystander but as a proactive, dynamic force for local good. While public discourse swirled around targets, funding models and outcomes frameworks, BPRCVS remained grounded in the human side of community life listening to neighbours, empowering volunteers, supporting carers, and connecting the overlooked and the underserved. Rebuilding Community in a Decade of Challenge and Change As the new millennium approached, the communities of Burnley, Pendle, and Rossendale found themselves navigating the complex legacies of industrial decline. Once proud centres of textile manufacturing, footwear production, and heavy engineering, these East Lancashire towns had borne the brunt of post-war deindustrialisation. The closure of mills, factories, and coal depots in the 1970s and 1980s had left economic scars that were still raw in the 1990s. Unemployment remained persistently high, and many families who had relied on stable, skilled work across generations were now struggling to make ends meet. With limited job prospects and a welfare system undergoing major reform, the region faced an identity crisis and a growing need for support services that could fill the void left by shrinking public provision. Amidst this turbulence, the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Council for Voluntary Service (BPRCVS) emerged as a vital force for stability, empowerment, and hope. No longer just a coordinator of voluntary organisations, BPRCVS became a lifeline for individuals and families at risk of being left behind. The 1990s marked a profound period of growth for the organisation—not only in the services it delivered, but in its geographic reach, its social impact, and its role in shaping the wider third sector across East Lancashire. In a decade of economic strife and social upheaval, one organisation became the steady heartbeat of local compassion and grassroots action in East Lancashire. Introduction: Community at the Crossroads
The 1970s were a time of upheaval for Britain. Across the nation, economic downturns, strikes, inflation, and energy crises combined to create a climate of deep uncertainty. For Burnley, Pendle, and Rossendale once thriving centres of industry the decade marked a painful transition away from the prosperity of the post-war era. Against this backdrop of national decline and local hardship, the Burnley, Pendle, and Rossendale Council for Voluntary Service (BPRCVS) emerged not only as a provider of relief but as a catalyst for community cohesion, empowerment, and innovation. This article traces the milestones, challenges, and remarkable adaptations that defined BPRCVS in the 1970s.  Social Prescribing Day 2025 has come and gone, and this year’s celebration was a resounding success, shining a spotlight on the incredible work being done to connect people with vital non-medical support. It is an annual event that recognises the contributions of the people, organisations, and communities who make social prescribing possible. The aim is not only to raise awareness but also to highlight the many benefits social prescribing brings to people’s health and wellbeing.
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