EVERY year during the first week of June (Thursday 1^st – Wednesday 7^th June 2023), organisations, charities and communities across the UK take part in the celebration of volunteers who offer their time and skills to make a difference. Volunteers’ Week provides an opportunity to recognise and respect their invaluable efforts.

Hastingwood-based charity, St Clare Hospice, is celebrating the more than 500 volunteers who are essential in helping the organisation to maintain its standard of care and diverse range of services. The West Essex and East Herts charity is set to host a series of awards evenings to recognise long-serving volunteers throughout the year, with the next event later in June.

Aged from 16 to 92 years, the volunteers provide a huge variety of support across all St Clare services. Voluntary roles range from helping out in the Hospice’s nine charity shops, to caring on their Inpatient Unit, providing companionship to people in their homes; alongside other crucial roles such as, gardening, fundraising, helping at events – or being a Trustee.

Stacey Towler, St Clare’s Volunteer Development Manager, said: “More than 500 volunteers give up their time, week in and week out, and enabling us to give outstanding care that changes lives within our local community. We humbly appreciate their unconditional generosity all year around, but it is during Volunteers’ Week that we are reminded of just how essential they are within the organisation, giving their time and skills to make a difference.”

Stacey continued: “Over the course of a year, the support we receive from volunteers amounts to approximately 100,000 hours in donated time – and we are continuously recruiting new people who want to help our hospice. It is with their dedication to St Clare that we are able to keep developing our services, continuing to improve our care. Volunteers’ Week gives us all a chance to say a huge ‘thank you’ to them, celebrating their hard work and all they do.” 

For more information about how you can volunteer with St Clare Hospice, visit their website at https://stclarehospice.org.uk/volunteervacancies/ or contact the team on 01279 773704 or email[email protected]