March Volunteering Update March Volunteering Update
Spring is finally here! I hope your year has started off well.
Student Volunteering Week was in February, and in honour of this we've shared student David's volunteering story. David has volunteered in our Edinburgh Davidsons shop for three years, and credits volunteering for enhancing his life experience and social skills.
We've also shared Harpenden shop volunteer Caroline's inspiring fundraising story that has led her to launching a brand new podcast: What Have I Done?
We're excited to show you our latest social media campaign that went live last month to recruit more volunteers in our stores. We know how difficult it is to run a store when you're low on volunteers so we're doing a big push to get more people to join our brilliant community. As part of this, we've also refreshed our social media badges which you can view on the Volunteer Hub.
Thank you.
Julie Byard, Director of Trading
Cancer Research UK
David's volunteering story: Student Volunteering Week
Student Volunteering Week took place from Monday 12 to Sunday 18 February, and we’d like to celebrate one of our own amazing student volunteers, David Smith, from the Edinburgh Davidsons shop.
21-year-old David has been volunteering weekly in the shop for three years, but he’s been getting involved with the shop’s fundraising and awareness campaigns since he was just 16.
‘Volunteering has always been a big part of my life, it’s something that started at the end of primary school and continued through secondary school. It’s me giving back to the community.’
David is a full-time university student and works part-time but is committed to volunteering every Saturday. Even with his busy schedule, he still has time to help if the shop is short of volunteers.
‘I see volunteering as a micro-holiday, it gives me time away from the stresses of university and life and allows me to be a kind member of the community.’
David gives exceptional customer service while he is on the till and goes above and beyond to help customers in need of help. ‘Volunteering has helped build my social skills through interacting with the public. It’s a two-way street’.
‘The other volunteers in these shops have experiences and stories that you can learn from. Volunteering is a good thing for your CV but a great thing for your life experience.'
Harpenden shop volunteer launches podcast
Caroline's volunteering story
Caroline has been volunteering in our Harpenden store for nearly 10 years.
Caroline’s mum, Mary, also volunteered in the Harpenden shop for 13 years before she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Mary died in October 2014, aged 72.
Caroline came up with the idea for her first fundraising project: ‘Knickers Model’s Own’, inspired by her and her mum's love of fashion. Every day for a year she wore an outfit made entirely from clothes from our charity shops.
The campaign raised £55,000 for Cancer Research UK, and Caroline received one of our Flame of Hope awards for ‘Pioneer of the Year’.
Launching her podcast
Nine years on from this, Caroline is bringing us her fundraising podcast series “What Have I Done?”
The series tells the stories of nine other inspirational fundraisers who have collectively raised more than £1m for charities.
“Fundraising is hard work and behind every person is a story, one the podcast unravels and explores,” says Caroline.
Our latest social media volunteer recruitment campaign
Last month we launched the below campaign on social media across the UK. We hope you'll see the number of volunteers going up in store because of this. If you use Facebook or Instagram, keep an eye out for the new adverts!
New social media badges on the Volunteer Hub
We've created some new social media badges and resources for you to share your love of volunteering.
If you would like to see these and find out more visit our Volunteer Hub.
Volunteer Survey
Thank you to everyone who has filled in our volunteer survey that was sent round last week.
If you haven't had the chance yet, there's still time! The survey will ask about your experience as a volunteer, and by taking part you'll be helping to shape how we support volunteers like you in the future.
The survey will remain open until Tuesday 12 March and takes 5-10 minutes to complete.
We're here to support you
Cancer chat
A moderated discussion forum where you can talk to others affected by cancer, share experiences and get support.
The Retail Trust
As one of our shop volunteers you have access to tailored, free and confidential health and wellbeing support.
The Volunteer Hub
Stay up to date with the latest news and all things volunteering. You can also access wellbeing support here.
If you received a link to this information by text message it is because you volunteer in one of our shops. If you’d like to stop receiving text messages from Cancer Research UK, or make changes to how we communicate with you, please contact preferences@cancer.org.uk.