The UKs first volunteering scheme to target the Indian diaspora was launched today in North West London with the support of cricketing hero Monty Panesar. Sewa Volunteers is a flagship initiative of leading British charity - Sewa International. The 1.3 million strong Indian community in Britain is recognised to be charitable and supportive, often sending huge sums of money to causes in India and elsewhere. However, this new initiative seeks to make it easier for them to find local groups and charities, which can make good use of their time, skills, and experiences.

The scheme aims to provide volunteers for a number of local causes and actively monitor & manage the 'volunteer experience' while transcending all affiliations to temples, faith groups, youth groups, regional groups, caste associations, companies and businesses.

The first set of partner charities are:

• Harrow Mencap - works with people with learning difficulties
• Middlesex Association for the Blind - help the visually impaired
• Age Concern Harrow - lend a hand to the elderly
• Sansaar - teach Gujarati through pantomime and music
• The Fryent Country Park (Barn Hill) Conservation Project - protect the natural environment

Arup Ganguly, President of Sewa International (North London), said: "The most valuable commodity that people can donate to charity, in this relentless world, is their time. I find the willingness of our community to give up their leisure time to help the needy, quite frankly, humbling."

On volunteers: "We value the time that people want to give. To ensure that they receive appropriate advice, we will brief each volunteer individually with the aim of understanding their background and motivation in coming forward so that we are able to pair them with a local group where we believe a 'fit' exists."

Monty Panesar, the face of the scheme, said:"Your time - every minute, every hour, you give makes a difference"

"We envisage this scheme expanding to include other towns, cities, and we will also focus on developing relationships with companies who encourage volunteering as part of their training & development programmes. Eventually, we'd like to promote volunteering as a tool to encourage development internationally by providing opportunities overseas." added Arup Ganguly.

For further information, visit www.sewavolunteers.org