The UK’s largest volunteering charity, CSV, today confirmed it would be the major partner with ITV to mobilise 4,000 young people in a new  ‘Big Clean Up’ campaign taking place this summer (Friday 9th June 2006).

It is the first big match-funded project to get underway with the support of ‘v’, a new charity set up as part of the Government's commitment to increase youth volunteering and civic service and to mobilise 1 million young people by 2010.   

The breakthrough builds on the success of CSV in mobilising more than 100,000 people throughout the UK every year with the CSV Make a Difference Day campaign, which last year saw more than 300 new community gardens created and 4,000 bags of rubbish collected.

ITV Regional News programmes throughout England and Wales will showcase the work undertaken by volunteers who get involved in making  a real difference to the environment where they work and live.

ITV’s eleven regions will cover the campaign through the summer months, leading up to ITV’s Big Clean-Up Day on Sunday, September 17 – the U.N.’s Clean Up The World Day - when it’s hoped thousands of volunteers around the country will be taking part in scores of environment-enhancing projects.

CSV will now embark on a recruitment drive to find 20 full-time volunteers and project staff to plan and deliver 20 major Clean up projects nationwide. The charity will consult with CSV’s Young People’s Panels about how best to engage and involve young people aged 16-25 years and will help identify the 20 sites for clean-up.

Dame Elisabeth Hoodless, Executive Director of CSV, said: “Citizen volunteers can transform local parks, gardens, coast and countryside to everyone’s benefit. CSV knows that one-in-ten volunteers choose to give their time to help the environment and ITV’s Big Clean-Up will give them the chance. Many will loose weight. Most will feel fitter”.

Charles Allen, Chief Executive of ITV plc, said:  “ITV’s Big Clean-Up campaign hopes to encourage our viewers across our 11 ITV regions to get involved in making Britain look better.  We are delighted to be working with CSV as they will help us with great opportunities to raise awareness and encourage viewers and importantly young people to do the same.  ITV and our regions can play a unique role in showcasing their achievements and Clean Up The World, a major United Nation’s environmental programme."

Individuals wishing to participate in the ITV’s Big Clean-Up should visit
www.csv.org.uk/bigcleanup

Further press information: Jason Tanner 020 7812 0038/07941 433 598 or Paul Donohoe on 020 7812 0037/07779 624 385 .

For the latest press releases, visit: www.csv.org.uk/press.

Further information about ITV: Jane Luca, Controller of Regional Affairs, ITV plc, Phone 0161 827 2219, Email jane.luca@itv.com

Notes for Editors

1) CSV (Community Service Volunteers) is the UK’s leading volunteering and training charity and creates opportunities for people to take an active part in the life of their community through volunteering, training and community action. Each year 195,000 people give 4.9 million hours of their time as volunteers through CSV. www.csv.org.uk

2) CSV engages tens of thousands of young people in volunteering and mentoring projects every year. They divert people from crime, enable people with disabilities to live independently, work with refugees and tackle illiteracy at schools.

3) ITV has historically run a series of important social action campaigns including the award-winning ITV’s Britain on the Move which inspired 1.2 million viewers to get active on ITV’s National Walking Day. Last year the ITV Local Heroes initiative joined the Year of the Volunteer to reward those volunteers who give up their time to help others.

4) ITV takes its role in protecting the environment seriously and this forms a major part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility agenda. ITV increased the amount of waste recycled by 33% in 2004. Impact on the environment was reduced further by a 42% reduction in the amount of waste disposed to landfill. In 2004, both our energy use and CO2 emissions reduced by approximately 6% compared with 2003.