Volunteers’ Week takes place every year from 1st–7th June and is a chance to show appreciation and thanks for the fantastic contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK.
During the week, hundreds of events and celebrations take place across the country to show thanks and recognition for the invaluable work volunteers do. Previous years have seen events such as awards evenings, parties, festivals, thank you cards and afternoon tea.
This year, the focus for the week is on volunteering for all; celebrating diversity and the huge range of people who give their time in so many ways.
If you are involved with volunteers, take a moment to consider how you could show them your appreciation. From trustees to fundraisers to carers, all make a huge difference to the lives of others.
It’s also a chance to consider whether you might get involved in volunteering. Volunteers’ Week is an ideal time to get chatting to organisations you’re interested in and find out more about how you may be able to help them. It could be anything from an international charity to a local support group.
Volunteering should be open to anyone, regardless of age; if you want to get involved, there will be a volunteering role out there that suits you.
Anne Curran, Communication and Content Volunteer at Scope, shared her volunteering story for Volunteers’ Week:
“I’m a communications and content volunteer…at Scope and I write the Scope volunteer newsletter. Throughout my life I’ve had a passion for human rights and wanted to work in the charity sector. I’ve also had rheumatoid arthritis from childhood so it never felt like a career path that was open to me; but I’m disabled, so I’ve developed open, flexible and creative problem solving skills in abundance…
I’m disabled. Sometimes you can see this, sometimes not. It has affected my employment opportunities, but not my determination to pursue my career choices. I have just graduated, studying remotely, with a first-class hons degree in international development and organisational strategy from the Open University…
Volunteering has been my route to building the necessary digital skills and experience to take the next step in my career…
I’ve learned so much about inclusion, website accessibility and harnessing the creative power of digital to drive forward Scope’s vision of a country where disabled people have the same opportunities as everybody else.
Scope doesn’t just drive change across society, it practises what it preaches. I’ve been supported at every stage in volunteering remotely. I would highly recommend Scope to those thinking of volunteering. I really feel like a valued member of the team.”
To find out more about how you can thank volunteers or get involved in volunteering yourself, visit: https://volunteersweek.org/
