Volunteers’ Week 2021

Community and voluntary organisations across RCT will thank local volunteers for giving their time with a series of events and activities between the 1st to 7th June to mark Volunteers’ Week.

As an organisation that supports and places volunteers, Interlink RCT recognise the value of volunteering and the life changing opportunities it brings to individuals and communities.

Since last Volunteers’ Week, Interlink have placed 244 people into volunteering posts, and supported 331 people with volunteering. They have also have provided training and assistance to community and voluntary organisations to improve volunteer recruitment and support.

On 1 st June, Volunteering week will kick off the week by thanking volunteers with a video message from our whole organisation. 2 nd June is ‘Youth Volunteering Day’, when GTFM will be giving shout-outs to young people who our partners have nominated as outstanding youth volunteers. On Employer Supported
and Skilled Volunteering Day this 3 rd June, a video created by RCT County Borough Council will be shared which discusses how they value volunteering as an employer.

On the 4th , Interlink will be launching Connect RCT’s volunteering portal, where people can search for and post volunteering opportunities. The 5 th June is the day for environment and conservation. Volunteers are encouraged to take part in a community clean up across RCT. On 6 th June, groups and organisations will be hosting ‘The Big Lunch’. This is an opportunity to thank volunteers for their efforts, while celebrating community connections and getting to know each other.

The list of announced activities is expected to expand as the week nears.

Already, several celebrities have provided thank you messages which will be posted on social media during Volunteers’ Week, with videos from Grammy Award winner Amy Wadge; Jodie Neale, winner of the Great Pottery Throwdown; TV presenter Matt Johnson; Tylorstown local and TV presenter Steve Jones; and actor from the Channel 4 series “It’s a Sin’, Callum Scott Howells.

Community Advice Coordinator Katelyn Burch who oversees volunteer activities for Interlink RCT said: “During the pandemic, volunteers have been the glue that holds RCT together. Neighbours have been supporting neighbours, and total strangers have given up many, many hours to look
out for others they’ve never met.

Volunteers are central to the work of countless charities and other organisations. They’re a valuable presence in many communities, making a difference in places as diverse as sports clubs, libraries, schools and hospitals.

Over the past twelve months as communities, neighbours and individuals responded to COVID-19 and various lockdowns, volunteers have been involved in all sorts of activities. They have shopped for and delivered food parcels. Volunteers have collected and delivered items from pharmacies,
as well as providing dog walking services.

They have been there for others, by providing welfare check-ins and wellbeing chats to those that need
them. Also, volunteers have raised vital funds for voluntary organisations, through a range of fundraising activities and helped share public health information messages across social media sites.

Established in 1984, the annual campaign for Volunteers’ Week recognises the contribution that volunteers make to our communities every day. This year, this recognition of volunteers continues to be vitally important.
Charities across the UK will share messages to thank their volunteers.

They will celebrate the power of volunteering to bring communities together, and to be there in times of need.
For many voluntary groups and organisations, the week will also be a chance to inform prospective volunteers of the range of volunteering opportunities on offer. Anyone interested should visit www.volunteering-wales.net, and also, http://www.ConnectRCT.org.uk will launch its web
portal for volunteering opportunities during the week.

Interlink RCT recognise the value of volunteering and the life changing opportunities it brings to individuals and communities.