MONEY makes the world go around. But you know what makes it go round more smoothly? People giving their time and energy for free. You only have to flick through the pages of this newspaper to see examples of the work that volunteers do and the effect they have. Wander round our towns and villages and you’ll see yet more evidence.

Sometimes it seems that half the shops in town are charity shops but they do raise much-needed funds for many good causes. Most of their staff are volunteers. And they also give people like me the chance to claim we’re being green, rather than mean, but that’s by the by.

Look at the back pages of this paper and you’ll see reports on football, cricket, athletics, tennis, tiddlywinks, judo and so on. Nearly all the people who run the teams and the leagues or coach the participants give their time for free. These things just wouldn’t happen without them.

Then there are the big events that so many of us enjoy throughout the year, I make no apologies for being Devizes-centric here as I’m just using my town as an example. This is by no means an exhaustive list but we’ve got the carnival, the beer festivals, the May Day Fair (well, not this year, but that’s another story … and one worth telling), the arts and literature festival, Picnic In The Park, the pancake race, the Food And Drink Festival, Christmas lights, toddler groups, the Christmas Fair, firework displays and merry old Father Christmas touring the town. Go on, guess what links all those?

And let’s not forget that those whom some disparage as ‘politicians’ are, more often than not, doing it for free. Now don’t get me wrong, for the likes of Mrs Perry and Mr Gray, it’s a career. County councillors tend to get reasonable allowances too. But the vast majority of those who hold elected office in this country do it for the love of their local community and because they want to put something back.

I’m talking here about parish and town councillors. In this day and age, they’re not in it for personal gain, and sometimes we can lose sight of that. To say that they’re all the same is to use a lazy – and blatantly untrue – cliché. There are plenty of ways to get rich quick but serving your community is not one of them.

There’s also the group of people who often work the hardest of all, the carers, many of whom are children. We don’t often see them but they do and essential job and without them, many people just couldn’t carry on.

I’ve barely scratched the surface of the volunteering world here. I could have gone into more detail about groups such as the Lions, the Rotary Club, the Women’s Institute, the Round Table, the Townswomen’s Guild and the Freemasons. There are those who help out in hospices, patrol the street as special constables or serve on the bench.

Still more give our young people something to do and a sense of purpose. I’m sure you get the picture. There are loads of people doing good work for the benefit of others.

So take a bow if you’re one of the people I’m talking about. If you’re not then maybe consider what President Kennedy almost said, “ask not what your community can do for you, ask what you can do for your community.”

Finally, although I salute those who give up their time and energy for the benefit of others, I do sometimes wonder about the sort of people who contribute voluntary columns to local newspapers. What’s their agenda?