A VOLUNTEER organisation will be staging a free concert at the University of Worcester this week.

Worcester Volunteer Centre will be hosting the celebration concert at the university's conference centre, from 7-9pm on Wednesday, June 6.

Sally Ellison, chief officer of the Worcester Volunteer Centre, said: "We hope for a successful evening. It's being set up to thank all the volunteers around Worcester for all their hard work over the past year."

The Worcester Volunteer Centre was established in 1989, but quickly outgrew its original base at the Angel Centre and moved to the current centre in the Tything. Projects of the centre include the volunteer-run Worcester Wheels which is a transport service for the elderly and disabled. The organisation has also received financial help from the Worcester News' owners, the Gannett Foundation.

Ms Ellison said: "Events like this help to raise awareness of volunteering in and around the city."

The concert will feature performances from St Richard's Hospice's Volunteer Singers, Horizon Light and a contribution from Worcester Snoezelen, a Worcester charity that specialises in helping people with disabilities.

Set up 12 years ago, the centre, based in Turnpike Close, Worcester, has about 450 visitors a week and features light rooms and a hydrotherapy pool to help activate the brain.

Jane Campbell, music co-ordinator at Worcester Snoezelen, said: "The number of volunteers who have helped have been really useful for the music project. Snoezelen will be providing six performances for the concert."

The event will be part of National Volunteers Week 2007. Tickets and more information about the concert can be obtained from the Worcester Volunteer Centre at 33 the Tything. it is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm.