Fermanagh people are at the top of the charts for volunteering and this simple fact reflects one of the reasons why this county is a place I am proud to call my home.

We have a wonderful tradition of volunteering here, of ‘doing your bit’ and this has become the backbone of this place especially in rural communities where self sufficiency and not relying on government is part of our culture.

Credit Unions, pre school education, community halls, local enterprise units, our wonderful sporting organisations, mother and toddler groups, senior citizen clubs, youth groups and a wide range of health initiatives, even our churches to name but a few are all based on voluntary endeavours by thousands and thousands of people. While the banks and post offices and many of our country shops and pubs have closed these voluntary organisations continue to provide services and opportunities.

Imagine if that volunteer endeavour stopped or severely declined in the future, this coupled with the digital revolution will lead to our communities becoming soulless, with houses but no real heart. Depopulation would be a real threat in these circumstances. This is a very important issue and something community and voluntary organisations, in fact all of our people need to both cognisant of and proactive about in the short, medium and longer term.

What's the evidence for this? I have the honour of working with The Fermanagh Trust for 20 years, whose work includes supporting hundreds of community and voluntary organisations each year. Many of these organisations are facing challenges and one of the key challenges today is finding new people to pass on the baton to and build on the work of previous generations. Information from the Office of National Statistics point to a 15 per cent decrease in volunteering in Great Britain over 10 years, even when the population grew by seven per cent. Look around your community and see who is volunteering.

Why is this happening? Evidence suggests that its symptomatic of the way we live today with the gig economy, advance in technology, and a decline of social ties, alongside an ageing population all having an impact.

In recent days one can see how volunteers make a difference. In Derrygonnelly and Coa on Sunday there were fantastic community fun days with hundreds of people attending, organised by a wonderful group of volunteers involved in Derrygonnelly Harps and Coa O’Dwyers GAA clubs. Last week we also saw the efforts of the Fermanagh Super Cup committee who work tremendously hard over many months to get our two county soccer teams prepared for the Super Cup. A huge voluntary endeavour.

Young people are also volunteering. The Fisher Foundation has supported approximately 400 people the majority of them young people who have volunteered overseas. These young people have travelled across the world and used their skills and given their time to make a difference in countries and regions suffering from severe poverty. This summer local people have been volunteering as far away as Kenya, Argentina, Rwanda, Maldives, South Africa, Romania, Bangladesh, Malawi and Myanmar. Closer to home its great to see so many young people involved in giving their time to mentor the younger children at the ARC six week Summer scheme.

The Oisin McGrath Foundation and other funds provide important funding to support volunteers with some great causes. We should do our best to ensure this wonderful tradition continues. The majority of people can play their part. Volunteering is a real win for everyone, the volunteer benefitting greatly from building friendships and learning new skills and really adding to their overall wellbeing.

So how do I volunteer? Think a little about what are you interested in? What skills do you have? Can you drive or are you good on computers or social media? Reach out and make connections with the many groups in your community. If you are not sure where to go give Lynn or Gavin in Volunteer Now a call in Fermanagh House. They will be delighted to help you.

Policy makers must also be concious of their role in this area, especially in relation to the small groups meeting local needs with few resources. Sadly the increasing bureaucratic world we live in presents challenges to voluntary organisations, especially smaller groups with an annual income of a few thousand pound or less. The establishment of the NI Charity Commission by the Assembly means that all organisations no matter how small must register as charity if it is set up for exclusively charitable purposes. In England and Wales there is an income threshold of £5,000, under this you do not need to register and present annual accounts and reports like you do here. The last statistics I read suggested 24 per cent of registered charities have an annual income of less than £5,000 and this figure will grow. This is having a negative impact on many volunteers in Fermanagh. Now that’s one piece of legislation we hope the Assembly will amend. Time to get back on the Hill!

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and other funders also have important roles to play here. They provide important funding and support for many organisations – hopefully they can step away from many of the systems they have in place and become increasingly volunteer friendly and reduce the paperwork for our wonderful volunteers.

We all have a part to play and the more people who get involved and volunteer and make a contribution to helping this little corner of the world be a better place, the better it is for all of us. Here's hoping in 10 years time Fermanagh is still top of the pops and at number one for volunteering.