London mayor Boris Johnson and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg have teamed up to launch a new £4m scheme to encourage volunteering in London.

The initiative, called Team London, will be a partner of mayor Bloomberg’s successful NYC Service scheme, a programme which engages New Yorkers in volunteering strategies that directly address the city’s highest priority areas of need. 

The Reuben Foundation has donated £2m to start Team London, which mayor Johnson is matching with a further £2m.

The launch funding will be allocated to six existing London volunteering programmes and charities will be invited to apply for grants of up to £10,000 to bolster their volunteering capacity in three key areas – crime, improving the quality of life and increasing youth opportunities.

Mayor Johnson aims to secure additional funding for the scheme from the private sector and charitable foundations.

Mayor Johnson said: “Team London is about what we can achieve when we act together. I want to see the village put back into the city and for every precious hour that Londoners spend volunteering achieves the greatest possible impact – for them, for others and for London as a whole.”