Today is the start of Volunteers’ Week, an annual event where the whole country comes together to celebrate the fantastic contribution volunteers make to our society.
This year, Volunteers’ Week is about volunteering for all – celebrating the huge range of people who give their time in so many ways. Here at Save the Children we are incredibly fortunate to have the help of volunteers with a wide range of experiences and skills across all aspects of our work.
In 2017 our volunteers were crucial in raising much needed funds to help us continue our work; from the £10 million raised in our shops, which are largely run by dedicated volunteers, to nearly £2 million raised by volunteer branches in local communities who organise anything from fashion shows to duck races, every penny counts towards helping children and our volunteers have a phenomenal impact.
Tireless efforts
However, our volunteers not only provide monetary value – we have volunteer speakers going out to schools and local groups to raise awareness of what we do, volunteer campaigners who work tirelessly to ensure our causes reach Parliament and indeed volunteers working directly with children in their local community on our UK programmes.
It must never be underestimated how much time and dedication is required to gain the ear of a local MP, make an eye catching window display or indeed organise a fundraising banquet.
But these are not the only ways volunteers can get involved with Save the Children – you can support us without having to make a large time commitment by signing up to a 4 hour shift to cheer on cyclists and runners at major events or indeed join our Save the Children Squad where you’ll be invited to participate in a series of one off volunteering opportunities in your area that only last a few hours. We’re always looking for new ways to make our volunteering more accessible and open to everyone.
A huge thank you
Next year Save the Children will be celebrating our Centenary marking 100 years since volunteers Eglatynne Jebb and her sister Dorothy Buxton founded our organisation with a vision to give every child the best start in life.
Since day one volunteers have been vital in helping us to deliver our work. We could not continue to deliver our ambitions without the support of our dedicated and passionate volunteers so during this Volunteers’ Week I’d like to thank each and every one of them for the work they do for us.
We’ll be celebrating all of our volunteers this week and reflecting on the great amount they have achieved for children.
Volunteer for Save the Children
If you’re reading this and thinking of volunteering for us – do it. You’ll be joining an incredible network of people who volunteer for many different reasons but have the same vision – to make the world a better place.
You can see a full list of volunteering opportunities in your area on our volunteering pages.
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