New government legislation coming into force in May of this year will mean that charities, such as Bees for Development, (BFD) are no longer able to send out emails to anyone that has not consented to receiving them.

Charities will be forced to draw resources away from their charity work to spend money on maintaining their databases.

This will become a burden to smaller charities which is why they rely so heavily on volunteers to come in on flexible hours and help with the demanding requirements of running a charity.

Bees For Development is asking for anyone who has some experience on maintaining a database to come forward as a volunteer in their shop in Agincourt Street to help them with the time-consuming but necessary office work.

They have data on their donors and their beneficiaries to keep up to date so that they know who they can send emails to under the new legislation.

The charity sometimes uses intermediary platforms to help raise money so an efficient database is essential.

They also send out brochures to beneficiaries in 120 countries, so an up-to-date mailing list is another part of a well-run charity.

In addition to their own projects, BFD undertake beekeeping project work on behalf of the World Bank, and the United Nations and other international organisations.

Bees for Development currently manages projects at community and national levels in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana and Uganda.

They lobbied Monmouthshire County Council to reduce verge and hedge cutting, with the enactment of Monmouthshire Pollinator Policy in 2014 and were instrumental in the establishment of the campaigning organisation, Bee Friendly Monmouthshire.

If you are interested in volunteering on a flexible basis, telephone 01600 714848 or email [email protected]