Reflections on Volunteers Week

Volunteers’ Week 2015 has come to an end, and here we return, one final time, to explore the meaning of the week, volunteering opportunities and saying the most important phrase of all – thank you.

Here’s Vicky’s reflections on Volunteers Week…

This week has been an incredible week of celebrating the work of volunteers; starting with the articles that I have been writing in the lead up to the week, continuing with the events that we have been part of during the week, tweets and ending with this article and the celebratory Volunteers Week edition of our monthly newsletter.

Volunteers Week is all about saying thank you to your volunteers; saying the words can be the most obvious way, but saying it can make some people feel uncomfortable; in creating the list of ways to say thank you we have hopefully inspired you with other ways to thank your volunteers for the time and effort that they share with you.

What we have also explored are the variety of volunteering opportunities that are out there; lots of people still believe that all volunteering is are shops and admin. Volunteering is so much more than that! This was an opportunity to step back and remind ourselves of the breadth of opportunity available as well as the benefits to the mental and physical health of volunteers.

I have been a hidden volunteer when I was a School Governor, and that was a role that brought its own rewards; what this week has made me realise was that I have been volunteering much more than I had considered. I am a microvolunteer; I regularly donate old clothes, books and toys to charity. I take part in cake sales. I have taken part in sponsored events.

We all do what we can to support the causes that we believe in and whether we realise it or not this is all volunteering. So this leaves me with just one thing to say – Thank You!!

Thank you for anything that you are able to do to support the causes that you believe in and making a difference in any way that you can.

THANK YOU