Volunteer's week
We have over 6,500 volunteer, in roles as diverse as carers, befrienders, gardeners and campaigners. They are crucial to helping us achieve our mission of supporting disabled people to live and work as independently as they choose.
People need safety nets and volunteering is mine. It’s like being in a bubble of warmth.
Mary, volunteer
Volunteer’s Week is a great time to start volunteering, and there are roles available for everyone. Roles range from short and flexible actions online to face-to-face volunteering and beyond.
Mary is one of our many volunteers, and started in Oxford while looking for a job.
Mary said:
‘I like to fill in and help people on the ground. I do batch cooking, make cups of tea, go shopping with the service users and go on day trips with them.
‘I really feel like I’m making a different and it’s so rewarding. It’s also just been so much fun that it doesn’t feel like a job.’
Mary ultimately went to Buckingham Palace when Leonard Cheshire’s volunteers attended a Royal reception for volunteers from around the country. But as far as Mary is concerned, volunteering is very much two-way.
‘I know I have helped people, but on the other side Leonard Cheshire has also helped me enormously.
‘I leave volunteering feeling energised and that I have done something worthwhile, I get attached to people and it makes you feel good. It helps me not feel lonely.
‘People need safety nets and volunteering is mine. It’s like being in a bubble of warmth.’