Being a volunteer comes with personal and professional positives, alongside getting to work, support, and communicate with members of your local community. After a challenging year for disabled volunteers, charities take the time to show their gratitude.
Finding Your Feet
“Finding Your Feet’s volunteers have been an incredible source of support and friendship for our community throughout the pandemic.
“Because of our peer support phone service, many members of the FYF community can now be signposted to the right support for them as well as enjoying regular chats with someone who has experienced limb loss.
“We’ve also had a consistent schedule of virtual activities including yoga, meditation and quizzes, most of which have been delivered by volunteers.
“Volunteers gave us over 1,600 hours of their time last year – it’s something that proved to be vital and we’ll be forever grateful.”
RNIB
Jo Keller, volunteering and resource manager
“A massive thank you to all RNIB volunteers. We know it’s been a challenging year for so many and it’s been incredible to see how people have adapted to changes to their volunteering and been dedicated in continuing where it’s been possible to do so.
“Thanks especially to those who have got to grips with new technology and explored new ways of volunteering with us as well as those who have been patient when roles can’t be carried out in the usual way.”
LEONARD CHESHIRE
Ruth Owen OBE, CEO
“The thousands of people who volunteer for us are invaluable and put simply, we would not be the charity we are without them. On behalf of Leonard Cheshire, I want to say a massive thank you to them for all that they do.
“During this pandemic our care homes could have been cut off from their wider networks, but many volunteers went online to keep providing their support. We know this has meant the world to so many of our residents. We’re also so grateful to the volunteers who delivered PPE for us and supported our services in any way they could during this time.
“For both care home residents and people who live independently, we’ve had volunteers lead virtual activities like meditation, language lessons and talks about museums and travel. They’ve used virtual reality to take people to visit local beauty spots.
“These innovations have been great and we’re looking forward to continuing these, as well as welcoming volunteers back for face to face support, as soon as we can.”
SCOPE
Verity Steddon, head of volunteering
“Before the pandemic, we had approximately 4,000 volunteers and they are an absolute lifeline. Without our incredible teams of volunteers, we could not continue to support disabled people and their families.
“Many of our volunteers are disabled and they bring a huge wealth of experience, knowledge and inspiration to the workplace, helping us to deliver the services that disabled people need and want.
“Our volunteers work across many departments at Scope. The majority work in our charity shops, in fact, without their vital support we would not be able to open or run them as smoothly as we do.
“We also have an incredible team of volunteers on our thriving Online Community. They help keep the platform a vibrant, supportive and safe place for disabled people and their carers to discuss issues important to them.
“We are so proud of our amazing team of volunteers and we’d like them to know that we value their support, daily, for their dedication, their willingness to go the extra mile for us. Our volunteers truly deserve to be recognised during Volunteers Week. Thank you to all our volunteers at Scope.”
GET SIGNED UP
Launched in lockdown Volunteero is a new app designed to make volunteering seamless and accessible.
With hundreds of charities already signed up to the App, you can search available volunteering roles that fit in with your schedule and relates to a cause close to your heart.
Got time to research? Volunteering Matters also host a range of volunteering placements open to people across England, Scotland and Wales, providing information on how to get involved and volunteer safely during the pandemic.
How are you volunteering this Volunteers Week? Let us know on social media, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.