Today, Monday 3 June, marks the beginning of Volunteers’ Week. It’s a time for charities, voluntary groups, social organisations, and volunteers themselves to come together, and recognise the incredible impact that volunteering has on communities around the UK.
I wanted to use this week to reach out and say a big thank you, from me and everyone at The MS Society.
We’re fortunate to have around 2,700 volunteers who tirelessly support our MS community. From fundraising, campaigning, or being involved in clinical trials, to running local groups and providing vital information or companionship to people with MS. We simply couldn’t support, or reach, as many people living with MS across the UK without you.
Whether you’re someone who gifts the occasional hour or a regular amount of time each week, every minute you give helps us ensure no one has to face MS alone.
Of course, we still have a long way to go. And I know volunteering has its challenges. But I truly believe that, with your support and passion, we’ll continue to make a huge difference to people with MS.
Some of my most enjoyable moments are getting to see this passion firsthand. Just recently I was pleased to join nearly 100 people from our wonderful Milton Keynes Group for their annual dinner. And it wasn’t long ago that I was able to cheer on 300 runners for the MS Society at The London Marathon. Both events had a real sense of community!
How we’ll be celebrating
Some of you will have spotted over the weekend that we started Volunteers’ Week celebrations early with video clips on social media, sharing some of the brilliant things our volunteers do. These volunteer, staff, celebrity Ambassador, service user and Chair of Trustee videos will continue throughout the week, so please keep a lookout and share or like them.
We’ve also pulled together a number of resources to help you recognise each other and create lots of Volunteers’ Week content using our new brand. You can find these on the Volunteer Website.
We won’t just be shouting about you externally either. We’ll be inviting staff to come along to an internal session to hear from two of our group volunteers about the services they offer. And how they’re pivotal in helping our organisation reach its goals.
I hope you all have a great Volunteers’ Week!
Thanks,
Nick Moberly
