YOUNG ASIAN GIRL WINS CAB AWARD
(14th November 2003)

Working to get people their rights has won a volunteer from Redbridge CAB a top national award. Kiranjit Kaur Sidhu, has won the Young Volunteer of the Year Award from Citizens Advice. The award was presented by the Princess Royal, Citizen Advice patron, in front of 12,000 delegates from Citizens Advice in England and Wales at its annual conference in York. Kiran, a volunteer for the last 6 months at the CAB, began the Generalist Advisor Certificate and worked her way at top speed through the course.

A lot of her work is advising on immigration problems, welfare benefits as well as other general advice issues. She is also developing her skills as an interpreter by studying for a formal qualification in interpreting. She is so enthusiastic about the work of the CAB that she is becoming a Trustee Board Member, as well as a member of Redbridge Youth Council, and has even persuaded her younger sister to join in the work of the bureau.

Kiran is also a keen footballer with the CAB youth team, Bureau FC, which is registered with the Power League. Kiran is part of an innovative project called "PROJECT 16 to 24" managed by Ruwan Perera and Funded by Community Fund. It is a project that has attracted over 40 young volunteers over a 6 month period.

Awards were made in six categories - Adviser; Admin, IT and Support; Social Policy; Young Volunteer (under 25); Trustee Board Member; and Lifetime Achievement.

Ruwan Perera, Youth & Community Development Manager of Redbridge CAB said, "Kiran is a fantastic example to young people. In the short time she has been at the CAB, she has proved to be priceless. She is a lively, dedicated and enthusiastic volunteer and we are all very proud of her. As well as putting in time with the CAB, she cares for her father, who is paralysed. She really is an exceptional young woman."

Kiran said: "I'm really pleased to win this award. I enjoy the work, every day is different; it's challenging, exciting and it's great to help so many people."

David Harker, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: "Our clients are not the only ones who feel the impact of the Citizens Advice service. The CAB has a positive effect on the lives of all our 20,500 plus volunteers. Our volunteers are the backbone of the CAB, and with their help, we deal with over five and a half million new problems every year. For those wishing to be advisers, they follow a good, comprehensive course on the national CAB training programme; others offer a wide variety of skills like IT, clerical support; and nearly 1 in 5 CAB regularly give advice in more than four languages. You don't need any formal qualifications to be a volunteer and many people find that our training and CAB experience can help them into paid employment."

If you would like to know more about volunteering at the CAB, please call our Volunteer Hotline on 08451 264264 from Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, all calls are at local rate. Or visit us at www.citizensadvice.org.uk/join-us

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