May 13, 2020 - 1473 views
Volunteers’ Week is a UK wide and annual festival of volunteering which takes place from 1-7 June every year. This special week is a time when volunteering involving organisations are encouraged to say a huge thank you to their volunteers.
Once again the Conwy Voluntary Service Council on Rhiw Road in Colwyn Bay will be marking the event in our area and help organisations that take part in Volunteers’ Week decide how best to mark the week in their own way.
The Volunteers’ Week campaign was started in 1984, which means this year marks the 36th year of formally saying ‘thank you’ to volunteers.
This year, Volunteers’ Week falls at a time of crisis, when the lives of individuals and communities have been affected by a global pandemic, when our neighbours, community members and local volunteers have become more important than ever to supporting those in need.
The campaign will focus on sharing volunteering stories – highlighting the amazing things volunteers are doing at these difficult times. The celebration also encourages organisations to not forget the volunteers that have contributed throughout the year, but that may be taking a break from volunteering right now due to the restrictions in place or a change in availability.
Volunteers give their time, energies and skills to many aspects of life in Wales, in sports, the arts, education, health, faith-based organisations, the environment, public sectors, in the Welsh language and to a range of communities where English is a second language.
Welsh villages, towns, cities, rural landscapes and the surrounding coasts and seas are improved and enhanced by volunteers that live, work, play and visit Wales. In 2018, 28% of people living in Wales reported that they volunteered.
This year, as communities, neighbours and individuals responded to coronavirus, volunteers became involved in shopping for, and delivering food parcels, collecting and delivering items from pharmacies, providing dog walking services and being there, through providing welfare check ins and wellbeing chats to those that need them.
Volunteers have raised vital funds for voluntary organisations, through a range of fundraising activities and helped share messages of public health information across social media sites.
To find out more about Volunteering Week and how to prepare for thanking your organisation's volunteers early next month, please contact the team at CVSC in Colwyn Bay via email volunteering@cvsc.org.uk
