Volunteers' Week is always one of the most anticipated highlights of our People First calendar, but this year felt especially powerful. To mark Volunteers' Week 2026, we gathered our incredible team of volunteers for a special meetup.
The energy was buzzing, as we shared our personal stories that gave us the drive to make a difference. We didn't want to just say 'thank you' to our volunteers but wanted to reflect on how far we've come and map out where we're going next.
We had 3 creative activities to shape our day:
The Impact Tree - A visual celebration of why volunteers choose to dedicate their time to us and sharing:
- What originally drew them to our mission
- Why they love volunteering
- Their favourite highlights from their time with us.
Seeing the branches of our tree fill up with their stories of connection and joy was a beautiful reminder of the deep roots that anchor our volunteer community.
Volunteer Roadmap - No two volunteer journeys look the same, our Volunteer Road Map honours that. We mapped out when each volunteer started their journey with us, and tracked how that role evolved over time. Whether someone joined just a few months ago or has been a cornerstone of our team for years, it was inspiring to see how our volunteering have grown alongside the organisation.
Future Aspirations Jar - We're always looking forward, which is where the Future Aspirations Jar came in. This was a space for collaborartion, and we asked our volunteers to add their thoughts to the jar. Questions asked were:
- What do you want to see from the services we deliver?
- How can we collaborate more effectively?
- What improvements can we make together?
We're not just leaving theses ideas in a jar, over the next 12 months we will actively be working on those suggestions. We will then revisit the jar during Volunteers Week 2027 to measure our successes.
Lisa Birdsall, Volunteer Manager said at the event:
“I felt inspired and energised by our fabulous volunteers, there was a lot of passion in the room and some great ideas to work on together in the coming year. I feel dedicated to supporting each volunteer to achieve the positive impact they are passionate about, with the aim of building robust networks for everyone who benefits from our services”
You can find out more about our volunteering opportunities by clicking the Volunteer button below