Volunteers’ Week: Celebrating those who help keep hospice care open to the local community.
This Volunteers’ Week (2–9 June) Willen Hospice is celebrating the super-human efforts of more than 600 active volunteers who help keep its life-changing care services available for local people.
Volunteers work in every area of the charity, from providing patients with wellbeing therapies such as massage, to serving customers in the Hospice’s high street shops. And from helping marshal the streets of MK for the Midnight Moo, to supporting the Finance team with counting donated cash.
Most of the Hospice's volunteers give an average of four hours of their time each week. When added together, this is the equivalent of 73 full-time positions – showing the extraordinary difference volunteers can make in their community.
During Volunteers’ Week the Hospice is taking the chance to say an extra special, heartfelt thank you to those who give their time, energy and kindness so generously – people like Peter and Mike.
Peter volunteers at the Hospice’s donation centre in Kiln Farm sorting books that are then distributed to the charity’s shops. He says, “After my wife died I wanted to try to give something back to Willen. Volunteering has given me a window into a whole new world and has introduced me to a new and very friendly group. I am so pleased that I have got involved. It has provided me with so many benefits as I transition to a new life on my own. It’s fun, sociable, enlightening, rewarding, humbling and has given me a new respect for books in all their guises.”
Mike volunteers in the Hospice’s In-Patient Unit, helping the clinical team to support patients and families. He says, “When you're speaking with patients, you just try and introduce a bit of normality into their lives. The exchanges that you have with them can be quite profound. A lot of volunteers have had some prior association with the Hospice, so it's quite an emotionally driven exercise. My mother-in-law and two close friends were cared for here and you see the impact of these innumerable acts of kindness and professionalism, which define this place. The nurses and the healthcare assistants – their first thought is for other people, and I think that's a beautiful thing.”
If you’re interested in volunteering with Willen Hospice, you can join their open evening on Tuesday 3 June to find out more. Drop in between 5.30pm and 7.30pm to hear about the opportunities available and meet staff. The event takes place at The Well on Newport Road, a two-minute walk from the main Hospice building.
