11th June 2024
Nottinghamshire Hospice celebrates Volunteers’ Week – June 2024
Earlier this month we celebrated national Volunteers’ Week. It’s been a perfect opportunity to champion and thank all the people who help to make the Hospice the great place that it is.
We really value the time our fabulous volunteers give, and have given them each a gift pack. This included a letter, certificate, and a small gift, along with a personal video message recorded by our own CEO Rachel Hucknall. We even highlighted some of our different roles every day on our social media channels.
There are lots of different roles our enthusiastic and committed volunteers carry out across Nottinghamshire Hospice. As well as supporting our care teams in Wellbeing sessions and Bereavement, we get voluntary help in our community shops and on-site with our team of gardeners, handypersons, administrators and trustees.
We spoke to some of the staff who run our Wellbeing sessions who shared their thoughts on the importance of working alongside volunteers.
“The volunteers really are the core of the hospice spirit. They bring their skills and experience, but most importantly they give from their hearts, and that shines through.”
“Whether it’s enabling people to get to the hospice, or supporting them with crafts, games or just being a kind listening ear, the patients are so lucky to have them. We’re so privileged as staff to have them work alongside us and are really inspired by their kindness. They are such generous individuals giving their time and spirit for the greater good, and you can see how much it means to them and how much they get out of it.”
“We rely on them so much, and they are so supportive to both patients and staff. The place wouldn’t be the same without them and the part they play in the care we give.”
In our community shops, we have a whole fleet of nearly 200 volunteers who raise incredible funds for our care. Last year saw our shops generate over £1 million in sales!
When Dotty first came into one of our shops, it was only to see what we were selling…
“I used to come in after dance classes next door and chat to Jean when she’d just started here. It was only meant to be a few minutes, but I’d end up staying for hours at a time. I thought I may as well muck in and help while I’m here. Now we’ve been keeping each other entertained for over 6 years!”
“I live about 2 miles that way and Jean’s about 2 miles the other way, so it’s nice that it brings us together.” The shops really are about their local community.
Thank you to all our volunteers for all of your hard work – we couldn’t do it without you!
If you’d like to give your time by helping at Nottinghamshire Hospice, we have a range of opportunities that you can get involved in. See our Volunteer Roles page for more details.