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Reflections on a Week of Gratitude – National Volunteers’ Week 2021

And so 2021 National Volunteers Week is coming to an end. Like the 2020 version, it has had to accommodate the realities of an ongoing pandemic, although that doesn’t seem to have prevented an impressive contribution via social media and digital channels. The 2021 version has had more time to adapt to the limitations of social distancing thus allowing some socially distanced events to also take place.

Here at Groundwork London we have focused all of our National Volunteers’ Week energies on trying to show the incredible level of gratitude to volunteers for the past year. Of course, we could never quite achieve that because the level of gratitude required far surpasses anything attainables immense. June 2020-June 2021 is forever to be known in history as the time of the Covid-19 Pandemic and what has been clear to everyone is how much volunteers have been central to the countries’ Covid Response, both at national and local levels.

Volunteer after volunteer, community group after community group, mutual aid organisation after local sewing club have all stepped up to support people in their time of need. The events across social media and the digital presence throughout this week has reflected the sheer scale of the contribution that volunteering has made to mitigating suffering and pathing the way to return to some form of normality in time. However it will be, new normality will be very different as the immeasurable contribution of volunteers can no longer be taken for granted. Their voices, and the voices of those who support them, have been heard loud and clear this week, and long may it continue.

Volunteering Kingston’s Volunteers’ Week contribution saw us hold pop-up events to say thank you to volunteers. We met with volunteers from Voices of Hope, who transformed from a choir into a food hub and who are now using their skills to support people and communities recovering from the effects of Covid. Volunteers were presented with certificates and had a lovely time in the sun reflecting on the last year and a half. We also visited the New Malden vaccination centre where we were even joined by actor, Peter Egan, who helped us present volunteers giving out certificates and saying thank you to volunteers old and new who have been so essential to our gradual return to normal.

At Volunteering Barnet we have also had a lovely Volunteers Week! On Tuesday & Thursday, VB team members Alice, Rachel and Alice G. visited Gateway Pharmacy, Mango Pharmacy, McParland pharmacy and Barnet Food Hub. It was great for the team to have the opportunity to speak to volunteers and hear how much they have enjoyed giving their time. Alice presented all of them with certificates of thanks and heard from the staff how vital their support has been.

At the Barnet Food Hub, Alice and Rachel had a taste of the hard work volunteers undertake regularly when an unexpectedly large delivery meant they were sorting and packing donated food alongside manager Ollie and the volunteers there! Ollie spoke to us about the impact of the Volunteers and how they have been the driving force of progression behind the project!

Throughout the week, Volunteers’ have shared their stories and experience alongside words of thanks from local organisations, showing just how volunteering has helped careers, mental health, community and the environment. Each volunteer received a thank you card to start the week off and the digital party continued through the week on their social channels.

The VB team shared content from across the borough and their partners as part of this years’ Volunteers’ Week special digital campaign, #atimetosaythanks, celebrating Barnet’s thriving volunteer sector and showing gratitude to the thousands of volunteers that have given their time across the borough!

“Overall, this Volunteers’ Week has been a huge success. We have loved being able to see the amazing levels of commitment and passion our volunteers have delivered across the borough. Thank you to everyone involved, including all our staff at Volunteering Barnet. Happy volunteers week 2021!” – Alice, Volunteering Barnet, Volunteering Brokerage Coordinator

Elsewhere, the Legends of the Forest volunteers in Waltham Forest were treated to surprise visits by the Legends staff team at both the Vaccine Site at Chingford Leisure Centre and the Telephone Check in and Chat call centre at the Magistrates. After many months, our Legends staff finally met our volunteers in person and they could properly congratulate the Legends for their efforts.

Twitter was very chirpy too, with clips and posts featuring our Legends in action: https://twitter.com/i/status/1399650719779667969

850 thank you cards were also sent out accompanied by ‘I am a legend of the Forest’ enamel badges to all those who have volunteered since March 2020 to wear with pride!

Meanwhile, with events ground to a halt since the pandemic began in 2020, the Team Westminster Ambassadors haven’t had the involvement across London events that they are so committed to supporting every year. But they have been very busy delivering their Mentors initiative which started to help alleviate stress and isolation between the volunteers during lockdowns. This Volunteers Week, Team Westminster have been looking back at the virtual activity on Zoom which help keep them connected and maintain their unique Ambassador spirit. To say a big thank you to each of them for their ongoing commitment, Team Wesminsters’ Sophie and Meryl delivered a virtual tea party (Zoom capture below) and presented each volunteer with special thank you card filled with goodies!

Team Westminster Active hasn’t had the chance to be as ‘active’ in the last year either with events cancelled and restrictions still in place for some, however, their continued commitment and support across the community and its’ organisations has not gone unnoticed. Enjoy the Volunteers’ Week video that Westminster Actives’ Anna and the team created below to say a big thank you alongside all the organisations across the borough! Well done Team Westminster!

The new-found understanding in the scale of volunteer commitment over the last 12 months has provided new learnings for everyone across the UK. Volunteers across the country have impacted us all in some form; delivering your food or medicines, supporting your neighbours, your medical professionals, pharmacies, befriending those who were isolated, across the overall Covid-19 relief, and that’s all before the ongoing need for support across the many many charities and foundations who rely on volunteers to keep going day-to-day. What has accompanied that commitment is a  bond between volunteer and those receiving assistance like we’ve never seen witnessed as such a public level before. The compassion displayed by those in a position to assist despite their own personal circumstances and challenges presents us all with an inspiring example to follow.

The ongoing challenges of Covid-19 have changed not only the health landscape but also the national psyche, rendering irrelevant forever the stereotypes of what constitutes a volunteer, a professional, or those in need. Class, age, race, gender; whilst all are still important to us in defining and embracing our diversity, volunteers across the board have shown that simple humanity comes to aid when needed, whatever the circumstances that endure.

National Volunteers Week has become more relevant with each passing year, especially when considering the barriers redefined by the pandemic. However, like the way we have overcome the challenges of supporting our communities in both 2020 and 2021, we can, with even more belief in our abilities than ever, make every National Volunteers Week a resounding success!

From Groundwork Londons’ Volunteering Kingston, Volunteering Barnet, Waltham Forest’s Legends’ of the Forest and Team Westminster!

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Judith’s story

As we begin to turn the page on the COVID-19 pandemic, we take a moment to hero some of the volunteering champions that have been helping make the national vaccination drive possible. Below is Judith’s story.

When the announcement was made that the New Malden & Worcester Park Primary Care Vaccination Centre had received their first vaccine shipment on 15th January, Judith started volunteering the very next day. A restaurant supervisor with a bubbly personality, back then Judith was on furlough and she was keen to meet new people and gain new skills.

She also saw volunteering as an opportunity to improve her mental health. She describes missing the social element from her regular employment and how its absence had impacted her generally positive outlook on life. “I’m a people person,” she explains.

“I work in a pub and there we get all sorts of people. And to not have that social interaction really put a strain on my mental health.”

Her self-described “dark days” are now well behind her however. “It’s such a positive atmosphere [at the Vaccination Centre]. The Lead GP is always so positive about getting jabs into people’s arms – it really rubs off. And the fact that we’re all really appreciated is probably the best thing,” she reveals, describing coming home after every volunteer shift feeling elated knowing that she’s contributed towards the global effort against COVID-19. Judith also depicts a picture of true camaraderie amongst the volunteers and says she’s developed a true friendship with some of them. “I never thought a lot of us would become so close. I made some fantastic friends.”

It’s probably no surprise she’s connected with so many volunteers considering Judith has taken on a number of different roles since she started volunteering back in January. She’s volunteered as a Traffic & Parking Marshall, a Welcome & Wayfinding Volunteer, she’s been on administrative duties at the check-in desk and even helped at a local surgery to assist with booking patients in to get their vaccines. “As new roles came up I just wanted as much experience as possible,” she explains, adding that it’s allowed her to widen her contact network and enhance her skill set even further.

Now back at her full-time job, Judith hopes to continue volunteering. She describes the experience as fulfilling and heartwarming and recommends others get involved. “I’ve dragged my dad into it,” she says cheerfully.

“He wanted to give back to the community as well, so I dragged him along when there was a gap to fill!”

Would you like to join the Vaccination Programme or volunteer for a local charity? Check out the current openings here.

Want to share your volunteering story? Get in touch!

 

This article was written by Dany Rubbo, Comms Volunteer at Volunteering Kingston.
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A Time to Say Thanks

The new normal, particularly as we celebrate National Volunteers Week 2021, seems so near and yet so far away. As life starts to take on a familiar yet still slightly strange feel over the coming late Spring and Summer months, it is time to reflect on something that has made a great impact on communities during the pandemic; the display of the human spirit and the achievements of volunteer contribution.

Achievement might seem a misplaced concept as we enter the 16th month of lockdowns and restrictions, but it does feel a million miles away for the initial fears of furlough, the exhausted medical staff, and the school children whose education has been greatly affected. Whilst a sense of ‘normal’ remains an ambiguous concept to us, particularly when mask-wearing and social distancing still form much of our outdoor expectations, at Volunteering Kingston we want to look beyond our limitations caused by the pandemic. We wish to recognise what has been achieved, by the communities we live in and the voluntary and community sectors, utilising volunteers, which has been at the forefront of the Covid response!

Looking around our local area we quickly start to see the evidence of achievement; the results of human endeavours against the odds. You will see Vaccination Hubs manned by both medical professionals and trained volunteers, you will see delivery services, provided by a partnership of public sector and voluntary groups, for the vulnerable and those still at risk. You will see vital food banks, mental health awareness campaigns, fitness groups doing good work, and the return to nature manifesting itself in clean-up operations run and delivered by local people and volunteers. Most of all, what we see is the inspiring outcomes of the dedicated individuals who ensured their community survives and strives in its’ recovery. What an example of the ultimate achievement of the true human spirit!

We want to say a huge THANK YOU to all our volunteers across Kingston and beyond, for making all the difference in such an unprecedented and challenging chapter!

It has been a great privilege and comfort during this period to see how many people want to come forward to volunteer. We broke all our records for volunteer sign-ups – in January 2021 we had 255 people sign up which well over three times the number of sign-ups in January 2020. Informal groups were set up quickly to deliver food and groceries to those who were self-isolating or shielding, a friendly chat on the phone for people who were lonely. The council, Kingston Voluntary Action and Volunteering Kingston, along with other voluntary sector groups provided support to vulnerable people, with volunteers playing a key part.

We also had groups set up like Sewing for Kingston who have made an astonishing range of items, from PPE at the start during the shortages, to items for newborn babies. A sister group, RBKares was also set in order to support key workers with comforting items to help them during this difficult time. During the very challenging period in January, these items made by and sourced volunteers were an important source of comfort and reassurance for staff at Kingston Hospital.

A huge range of organisations quickly mobilised their volunteers in order to help people from the first wave through to the second and third lockdowns. Despite the continued challenges and change of this period, one thing has been constant: volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations have been here for people in Kingston.

 

To continue to celebrate the work of Volunteering Kingston’s volunteers, we will be celebrating National Volunteers Week 2021 with lots of online content, some surprise location visits (Covid-proof of course) and above all, saying a well-deserved huge thank you to each and every one of our volunteers. Their commitment to each other and our communities has been a driving force in the fight against Covid-19 not only here at home in Kingston but also nationwide. The achievement to come when ‘normal’ finally returns, however it chooses to return, will be even clearer. And that achievement will be in the re-invigorated human spirit that volunteers have displayed and owned in numbers since March 2020, and long may it continue!

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Looking forward to new opportunities this Volunteers’ Week

After a tumultuous year and a half, people across Kingston are looking forward to discovering new volunteering opportunities or rediscovering the joy of giving their time. So whether you’re looking forward to restarting your volunteering journey in the new normal or want to start volunteering for the first time, read on to find out how you can get involved.

 

Getting out to nature

We’ve all had a bit of zoom fatigue and we’d love to get out and about in nature. There are loads of volunteering opportunities that help you enjoy the outdoors while also helping protect it for others. You can become a Countryside Volunteer and take part in protecting habitats with a group. It’s led by qualified staff and is a great way to learn about the countryside. Or you can join Citizen Zoo in Surbiton and along the Hogsmill River, and help rewild parts of Kingston.

Search for other roles to support the environment here.

 

Raising money while making friends

Charity shops have been badly affected by the pandemic and they are very keen for more volunteers to use their skills to help sell secondhand items and raise money for good causes.

Looking to rejuvenate your social circle? Then volunteering at a charity shop can be a great way of making friends. Join this friendly Oxfam shop and support people affected by poverty worldwide.

Charity shops are particularly interested in people with special skills or knowledge – perhaps you are a fashionista, an expert in valuable cameras, a music buff or are just great at chatting to customers. Princess Alice Hospice is looking for an avid fashion volunteer and you can apply here.

Charity shops are also great for people who have never volunteered before and want to get more experience before taking on other opportunities. This Oxfam shop takes on volunteers aged 14 plus and requires no experience.

Search for other charity shop roles here.

 

Using professional skills to help charities

As charities recover from this period, they are seeking people with professional skills and some time to give. As a trustee, you will play a key part in the strategic future of organisations. Your professional support, advice and expertise, will benefit a not-for-profit organisation immensely. Find trustee opportunities here.

If you are good with words and understand social media, you can volunteer to help raise the profile of charities, ensuring they get funding and can reach the people who need support. Find marketing volunteer roles here.

 

Bringing people together

If you want to bring people together, you are not alone. There are loads of opportunities for people who want to get back to getting together, with the Save the World club looking to recruit Befrienders for the Covid recovery cafes at venues across Kingston.

If you are interested in other volunteering roles, please search on our website here.

You can also contact us for support to find the right for you.

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Making a difference in someone’s life: Natasha’s story

 

An A-level student who wants to pursue a career in medicine, Natasha started volunteering at a local COVID-19 vaccination centre during the Easter holidays. She had some previous volunteering experience in roles facilitated by her school, but when she heard through a family friend that St. Christopher’s Church was opening a vaccination site, she saw it as a great opportunity to help people and also gain some experience in her desired field of study.

At the site, Natasha is part of a small group of volunteers supporting the vaccine roll-out at St. Christopher’s Church. Because it’s a newer site and Natasha joined right at the beginning, she says there’s always been a lot to do, from admin duties like patient bookings and signing people in, helping pharmacists and those administering the vaccine, to writing description sheets that would support volunteers in the execution of their duties.

Initially having signed up for a couple of sessions, she’s been returning ever since. “I really enjoy going there,” says Natasha. “There’s always something to do that I can help with and it’s a nice break from schoolwork and all of that. But I also like to feel like I’m being useful.” Wanting to pursue a career in medicine, it’s probably no surprise that Natasha likes to help people. “It actually brings me joy knowing that I can help people.”

But learning has also been a significant part of her experience. “I learned a lot about the organisation of things,” she explains. “I even learned how to draw syringes, which was pretty cool! But you can really learn all kinds of valuable skills that can apply to what you want to do in life like team working and communicating with different types of people and of all ages.”

Aside from being educational, she also describes the experience as fun and says she enjoys talking to the patients and other volunteers. But most of all Natasha characterises volunteering as being rewarding. “To think that what you do can have a really big impact on someone else is just really rewarding,” she says. “The little things you can do should never be underestimated.”

“There are always opportunities for someone to volunteer and I think anyone has the potential to make someone’s life better. And I think that’s really valuable.”

Do you feel inspired by this story? Would you like to volunteer and help make a difference in your community? Check out the current openings here.

 

This article was written by Dany Rubbo, Comms Volunteer at Volunteering Kingston.
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Delivering goodwill and essential supplies

 

We spoke to Liam at Alfriston Outreach Service about how they are involving volunteers in their work. Looking forward, Alfriston Outreach Service want to carry on involving volunteers, moving away from short term practical tasks to befriending and volunteer-led activities. With a set of pre-COVID volunteers, the current food delivery volunteers and the future recruits, the Alfriston team is planning ahead and looking forward to welcoming their service users back at the Centre.

 

Alfriston Outreach Service is a Day Centre that offers a range of services such as activity packs, shopping/delivery, prescription pick-up, hearing aid batteries, laundry, crisis support, and technology support to Kingston residents. In the past, a typical day would see many residents walking into the Centre to socialize and interact with other service users. However, since March 2020 they have remained closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they have been contracted by Kingston Council to provide support for older people such as delivering food and other essential supplies.

Volunteers have always played a key role at the Alfriston Outreach Service Centre taking up everyday tasks to support their services. Although the Centre has traditionally recruited volunteers through word of mouth, they’ve found Team Kinetic (Volunteering Kingston’s volunteer management platform) much more effective for recruiting and managing volunteers. According to the Alfriston Outreach Service, the platform’s user-friendly outlook with simplified interactive features has been a game changer.

It was during the initial days of the lockdown when Liam and his manager found it very challenging to manage the office-based tasks alongside travelling to various parts of the Borough to deliver food. So they decided to recruit for two roles that needed one or two volunteers and received an overwhelming response from twenty-five volunteers who were keen to get out to help those in need and offer their share of service towards the community.

 

Without volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to do this. Once we got in touch with Volunteering Kingston, everything happened very quickly and it made things run a lot smoother.

 

The volunteers who came on board to support with the food delivery role have been delivering more than just the essential supplies, they have been delivering smiles, a hearty chat and acting as an observant eye to check on the well-being of the service users. For example, one volunteer reported that a service user seemed a little confused during their interaction, which led to the Alfriston team checking on the resident to make sure they received the support they needed. Alfriston Outreach Service fully appreciates how volunteers have come forward during these tough times to spread goodwill in the community. To further amplify this, there are plans to include the volunteers in an Easter Egg delivery in the coming weeks. We at Volunteering Kingston think that this is a fantastic idea and perhaps the volunteers could dress up as Easter bunnies? Just a thought!

 

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Our Vaccine Heroes

For the last ten months, Covid-19 has changed our lives beyond recognition. It has been the most extraordinary and challenging period that most can remember. The Covid-19 vaccine is the way out of this difficult period – and yet again people who live, work and study in Kingston have stepped up to support their community.

Volunteering Kingston has been recruiting volunteers on behalf of New Malden & Worcester Park Primary Care Network. The volunteers have been welcoming people into the clinic, helping people find the right car parking spaces and making sure that the whole vaccination process runs smoothly.

We have over 70 volunteers give their time and helping protect Kingston.

Here is what some of them have to say:

 

 

 

And a thank you from one of the doctors:

 

We can’t promise Nandos every volunteering session – but if you need another reason to get involved!

 

Want to join them?

Search vaccine here.

Contact us if you have any questions or want any support.

Other ways to help?

Volunteering in person is not right for everyone at the moment. Here are some other ways to support the vaccination effort from home:

  • Remind friends and family to wait to be contacted by their GP. Also, remind them to make sure they are registered with a GP.
  • Share trusted information from reliable sources with friends and family.
  • Spread awareness of scams that are circulating around the Covid-19 vaccine. Find out more here.

There are other ways to support people affected by Covid-19.

  • Voices of Hope are a community choir who transformed themselves into a food and support group. Find out how to get involved here.
  • Sewing for Kingston is an amazing group who come together to make things to support the staff and patients at Kingston hospital – scrubs, face coverings, baby clothes and everything else you can imagine. Find out how to get involved here.
  • Find the right opportunities for you on Volunteering Kingston.

 

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Involving volunteers in this most unusual of festive seasons

Lots of people get the volunteering urge in the run-up to Christmas, from the desire to teach their children that there is more to the day than presents to the need to clear their head after too many mulled wines, it Is always a period for people to give their time.

This year, with many of the usual celebrations altered or stopped altogether, many people will be even more keen to volunteer.

For organisations, managing volunteer interest during a busy time can be a challenge. Please see the tips below for how to support and involve volunteers – and make the most of the season of goodwill.

Keeping Christmas safe

Regardless of restrictions, people have always been permitted to volunteer outside their home if necessary. People who are extremely clinically vulnerable are advised not to go to work or volunteer outside of the home. When recruiting for roles which involved leading the home, please inform volunteers of the steps you have taken to keep them safe and ask them to confirm that they are not in a group asked to take extra care.

Organisations must take precautions as much as possible when using volunteers to deliver services in person. Please check our resource bank and the government guidance on how to keep people safe. Please get in touch with us if you’d like some bespoke advice.

Spreading joy at home

As we will be spending a lot more time at home why not encourage people who want to volunteer to get involved from the comfort of their sitting rooms? This is a great way of softening the blow to people who wanted to get out there volunteering, as well as keeping your current volunteers engaged and feeling rewarded.

Ideas to encourage volunteering from home:

*  Writing Christmas cards to service users – whether you give out their names (with permission) or just have people write ‘Hello’, this can be great if you are supporting people likely to be lonely this Christmas.

*  Zoom carol services.

*  Lots of people have clear-outs before and after Christmas – so encourage them to donate to your charity shop or why not look into creating an eBay shop?

*  Socially distanced Santa fun run. Rather than a parade of Santas running down the high street, you could have people run their usual running route in fancy dress and encourage people to spot Father Christmas ‘in the wild’.

*  Families will be looking for lots of activities to get the little ones busy over the Christmas holidays. Here are some ideas that engage families – they could be charged for as part of a fundraising campaign, but it is worth bearing in mind that many families will be struggling with finances this year, therefore, price accordingly – you could also allow entries based on ‘pay what you can’.

  1. Christmas drawing competitions
  2. Photo competition – the strangest place to find Santa’s elves
  3. Creative writing – e.g. wishes for 2021
  4. Toy clear out – encouraging donations for your charity shop. Send out digital certificates for children who donate toys etc.

*  Recording Christmas messages for service users – a great task for existing volunteers. They could record themselves singing Christmas songs, reading Christmas stories (for children in particular) and tell so-bad-they’re-good cracker jokes.

Once someone has been involved in a small way, they often are interested in volunteering more. Make sure to follow up with volunteers (if they consent!) with details of any volunteering opportunities in the new year.

Christmas free zones

Some people, after a difficult year, will be looking forward to the festivity and joy of this period. Others may find it hard to celebrate this year, especially if they have suffered from bereavement or are facing a lonely Christmas.

You may find that you want to focus more on 2021 and a fresh new start that the new year brings. Focusing in on the benefits that any new volunteers might bring, or what you are planning in the new year may be more effective.

Of course, there are many people who do not celebrate Christmas. Consider noting other religious holidays in your communications.

Some Jewish people volunteer on Mitzvah Day which this year was held on 15 November. We spoke to Rebecca Singerman-Knight, the Deputy Chair of Kingston Liberal Synagogue, who said:

“We have been involved in two volunteering projects for Mitzvah Day this year. For the first, our members recorded videos of themselves singing favourite songs or reading poems, and we compiled a playlist to share with elderly residents in Jewish Care homes across the country who have been suffering this year due to lack of visitors.  You can watch the playlist here.

 

We are also running an ongoing project in which our members are putting together personal hygiene bags for homeless people and we will be delivering these to Kingston Churches Against Homelessness at the end of November”.

Why not get in touch with your local place of worship to ask if they are interested in celebrating a particular holiday through volunteering.

Directing people to opportunities

If you have people interested in volunteering who you can’t accommodate, encourage them to read this festive volunteering blog and find out more about activities they could take up this festive season.

You could also encourage them to search for roles using our new website.

Remember, we are always here to help and support with any aspect of involving volunteers.

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Celebrate the festive season with volunteering

The run-up to Christmas is very different this year and volunteering for Christmas is no different. While there are still some volunteer roles that will require in-person volunteers it is likely that most volunteering will be done from home.

 

Out and about

There will be fewer opportunities to volunteer out and about this Christmas, but there are a couple of ways to volunteer:

Safety first – always following NHS and government guidance. Never volunteer when you are unwell or told to self-isolate, and do not volunteer outside of your home if you in a high-risk group.

 

From the comfort of your own home

If you’d prefer to do good from the sofa, here are some ways you can show goodwill to all this Christmas:

  1. Organise a virtual Christmas quiz to raise money for a good cause. Lots of big charities create quiz packs ready-made to be used – they are a great way of bringing together extended family over zoom.
  2. Order your Christmas cards from a charity’s website, for example, Cards for Good Causes or from a charity shop.
  3. Sign up to be a telephone buddy and commit to a half-hour friendly conversation with a lonely person into the new year.
  4.  Join Sewing for Kingston and use your crafting skills to make important items – from scrubs for medical staff to face coverings to blankets for premature babies: “Our community are a font of knowledge and are always happy to share tips and expertise via our Facebook group, so I’d encourage anyone who’s a bit nervous about sewing or related crafts to join up and give it a go”.
  5. Become a Street Champion and be a hub for local donations of food.

 

Places to donate

It has been a very challenging year for everyone, and if you’re in the position to donate, there are many charities in Kingston who will be very grateful for whatever you can spare:

  • As sadly big parties are likely to be out this year, if you are able, why not donate the money you would have spent to Kingston foodbank?
  • Donate to Voices of Hope to help families enjoy the festive season with gift boxes full of presents and festive activities.
  • If you want to learn more about organisations before you make your mind up as to which one should receive your money, you can find stories about the amazing things they have done over the past nine months.

 

Looking forward to the new year

Want to put 2020 behind you? You are not alone!

If you want to embrace the challenges and joys of 2021 then why not have a look for a volunteer role in the new year. You could improve your admin skills, befriend people who are isolated or get outdoors helping with gardening. Get in touch with us to find out more.