# VSO celebrates 50th anniversary

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/03/28/vso-celebrates-50th-anniversary/
- Published: 2008-03-28T11:53:23+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Happy 50th birthday to international development organisation VSO. In half a century,
it has helped 32,000 people volunteer in 119 countries to help tackle poverty.

The average volunteer is no longer the gap year student of the past. Today, with
an average age of 41, VSO volunteers can now offer much more tangible, transferable
professional skills.

Volunteers have come from a wide range of occupations, including plastic surgeons,
teachers, sanitation engineers, boat builders, livestock advisors and geo-hazard
advisors. It all depends on what the government and community organisations request
from VSO.

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www.vso.org.uk

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 * **[Zurich launches Challenge 2008](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/04/23/zurich-launches-challenge-2008/)**(
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