As always, we had big plans for Volunteers’ Week, which is celebrated annually across the country during the first week of June. Alas, COVID-19 had other ideas! But even the Coronavirus couldn’t stop us applauding our amazing volunteers as we set to work moving our celebrations online.

Using our website and social media pages, we took enormous pleasure in sharing stories from our volunteers, work buddies and colleagues, alongside plenty of statistics, facts and top tips. The stories – some of which can be found here – highlighted the personal benefits of volunteering, as well as the invaluable contribution volunteers make to our community. Our highlights of the week include joining in with the national #ClapForVolunteers event and hosting a volunteers’ get-together in the form of a Skype quiz!

Volunteers’ Week also served as the perfect opportunity to share some news we are particularly proud of. We recently received the final report on the social value of our volunteering service, which shows the impact it has both on individuals and the wider community. We’re delighted with the findings, which conclude that every £1 invested in the project is worth £6 to society, calculating the social return on investment to be over £360,000 per year!

Volunteering is without a doubt a valuable asset to many, and what better way to sum it up than in the words of one of our volunteers, Jill:

“If you have the chance, everyone should do it.”