Today sees the start of Volunteers’ Week, an annual week of acknowledging the huge contribution millions of people make to UK’s communities and society through volunteering. It is also an opportunity to thank them.
Volunteering is any activity that involves spending time – unpaid – doing something that aims to benefit the environment or someone (individuals or groups) other than, or in addition to, close relatives.
- Almost one in five (17%) people reported volunteering at least once a month. This is about 9.2m people.
- Less visible is informal volunteering, which includes a wider range of activities including unpaid help for someone who is not a relative. In 2020/21, 54% of the population (29.4m) volunteered informally at least once a year and 33% (17.9m) did so at least once a month.
As well as helping others, volunteering has been shown to improve volunteers’ wellbeing too. It’s human nature to feel good after helping someone out. Volunteering can also help you gain valuable new skills and experiences, and boost your confidence.
In May 2022, we ran a consultation amongst our residents to help us enable you to take up the volunteering opportunities we offer. Here are the reasons you gave us for choosing to volunteer with us:
- Because you care
- Because society relies heavily on volunteers due to limited government funding to support key services
- Because you have a lived experience of being a Lewisham Homes’ tenant
- To improve your environment
In the consultation you also told us how we can support you and make volunteering an attractive prospect for you. We are working with the results to help us finetune our volunteering policy which we will share when it is ready. In the meantime, if you’d like to register your interest in volunteering, email getinvolved@lewishamhomes.org.uk.
For more information about Volunteers’ Week, visit the National Council for Voluntary Organisations website.
