Halton Voluntary Organisations
Halton
Halton is a local government district in the North West of England which has borough status and is administered by a unitary authority. It was created in 1974 as a district of Cheshire, and became a unitary authority area on 1 April 1998. It consists of the towns of Widnes and Runcorn and the civil parishes of Hale, Daresbury, Moore, Preston Brook, Halebank and Sandymoor.
The area borders Merseyside, Warrington and Cheshire West and Chester. The borough straddles the River Mersey - the area to the north (including Widnes) is historically part of Lancashire, that to the south, Cheshire.
Volunteering
Volunteering is the practice of people working on behalf of others or a particular cause without payment for their time and services. Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life, but people also volunteer for their own skill development, to meet others, to make contacts for possible employment, to have fun, and a variety of other reasons that could be considered self-serving.
Volunteering takes many forms and is performed by a wide range of people. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work in, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Other volunteers serve on an as-needed basis, such as in response to a natural disaster or for a beach-cleanup.
Charities
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). The term is relatively general and can technically refer to a public charity (also called "charitable foundation," "public foundation" or simply "foundation") or a private foundation. It differs from other types of NPOs in that its focus is centered around goals of a general philanthropic nature (e.g. charitable, educational, religious, or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definition of charitable organization (and of charity) varies according to the country and in some instances the region of the country in which the charitable organization operates. The regulation, tax treatment, and the way in which charity law affects charitable organizations also varies.
A charity, or charitable organization, in England and Wales is a particular type of voluntary organization. A voluntary organization is an organization set up for charitable, social, philanthropic or other purposes. It is required to use any profit or surplus only for the organization's purposes, and it is not a part of any governing department, local authority or other statutory body. All charities are voluntary organizations, but not all voluntary organizations in England and Wales are charities.