If you’re already one of our fantastic volunteers, then this Hub is for you! You can find useful information and resources, and we regularly share news and updates to do with volunteering at Cancer Research UK. Find everything you need to know about your time with us in the Welcome to Volunteering booklet.
View the Welcome to volunteering booklet(PDF, 3.42 MB)
Watch the Welcome to volunteering video
This festive season, we want to say a huge thank you to our brilliant volunteer community for everything you do to make our research possible. We hope you’ve all enjoyed some rewarding moments while volunteering with us in 2025.
As the year draws to a close, I want to thank you for the extraordinary difference you’ve made. Your time, energy and commitment mean we are beating cancer together.
Every item you sell, event you attend, petition you sign, story you share or moment you give helps us take steps towards a future where more people live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer. It takes all of us to make progress possible, and your commitment means everything.
This year, your support has helped fund breakthroughs that could transform cancer prevention, detection and treatment, giving more precious time with our loved ones.
For example, this year Cancer Research UK has awarded £10m funding for a data and AI project being led by Professor Antonis Antoniou from the University of Cambridge. The Cancer Data Driven Detection programme, or CD3, will develop new ways to identify who is most at risk of getting cancer. This programme will enable healthcare professionals to help people in more personalised ways. For example, some people at higher risk may benefit from more frequent screening, increasing the chances of detecting signs of cancer even sooner.
This research could revolutionise the way we detect and prevent cancer, making a real difference and saving lives. These advances are only possible because of you.
From all of us at Cancer Research UK, thank you for all that you do – this festive season and always. Your generosity brings not just hope but progress to millions worldwide.
Wishing you a joyful and restful holiday season.
Michelle Mitchell OBE - Chief Executive, Cancer Research UK
As we approach the festive season, our Science Engagement team have recorded a special video message to thank you for the incredible contribution you’ve made to Cancer Research UK this year, and to let you know how your support is powering life-saving research.
As we reflect on the last 12 months, we’re also shining a spotlight on some of our brilliant volunteers’ stories.
2025 was a busy year for our volunteer community, with volunteers and supporters making an impact across every area of the charity. From abseiling down the Francis Crick Institute to welcoming MPs to hundreds of our shops and Cancer Awareness Roadshows, our volunteers have gone the extra mile this year to help us beat cancer.
Check out our 2025 highlights(PDF, 1.72 MB)
By giving your time, you’ve helped make life-saving breakthroughs in cancer research possible. With your support, over the past 50 years our work has helped double cancer survival in the UK.
This autumn, discover the impact of your support in a powerful new documentary series, Cancer Detectives: Finding the Cures. We’re proud to partner with Channel 4 on this three-part series, which shines a light on pioneering cancer research and the people behind it.
The series explores how breakthroughs in prevention, detection and treatment are helping people affected by cancer live longer, better lives. It follows Professor Sarah Blagden, who’s developing a lung cancer prevention vaccine, neurosurgeon and scientist Dr Richard Mair, who treats patients with fast-growing brain tumours and Professor Caroline Dive, who’s working on blood tests to detect cancer before it shows up on scans.
The cast are part of an inspiring community of researchers committed to beating cancer, whose work is supported by volunteers like you.
You can stream all three episodes of Cancer Detectives: Finding the Cures now on Channel 4.
We’ve announced an important change to our retail operations that will impact some of our shop volunteers.
We love hearing our volunteers' stories! If you'd like to share your volunteering experiences with us, please complete our 'Share Your Story' form below. You can tell us what inspired you to start volunteering, what you enjoy, and what you might say to anyone thinking about getting involved.
A variety of online badges have been created to help you share your love of volunteering with friends and family.
Help us spread the word by downloading and sharing on your social media or adding one to an email signature - you never know who you might inspire to help out too!
Volunteering has many benefits, from boosting your wellbeing to giving you the opportunity to learn and develop new skills. At Cancer Research UK, we are really grateful for the support you give us, and we want to make sure that you have an enjoyable, rewarding and satisfying volunteering experience. Our wellbeing and development page is full of useful resources to help you make the most of your time with us.
We exist to beat cancer. And beating cancer means beating it for everyone. We want everyone at Cancer Research UK to feel part of an inclusive team, where our differences are valued, we have fair and equal opportunities to succeed and everyone can thrive. As a volunteer with us, it’s important you understand and embody our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) values.
Read more about EDI at Cancer Research UK(PDF, 2.02 MB)
Join our Talk Cancer online workshop to feel more confident in having supportive conversations about how people can reduce their risk of cancer, the importance of early diagnosis, and cancer screening. The Talk Cancer training is created by nurses, with workshop content always backed up by the latest cancer evidence.
We were delighted to have been awarded the Investing in Volunteers accreditation for good practice in volunteer management. We appreciate the amazing impact that our volunteers have on our mission to beat cancer. This accreditation is our commitment that we’ll do all we can to give back to our volunteers as much as you give to us.
To talk to others affected by cancer. Or if you have questions about cancer, you can speak to one of our nurses on freephone, Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm, 0808 800 4040.
If you have any questions about volunteering, please speak to your staff contact or email us.
