Volunteers Week 2024 runs from 3rd to 9th June. In a sea of special dates across the year, what makes Volunteer week so important? Our volunteering lead, Clara shares her thoughts below.
It’s a chance to celebrate all the fantastic volunteers who give time and skills for free. Starting Point couldn’t do what we do without them – but what does that mean?
Did you know that last year, Starting Point volunteers gave 764 hours of their time to support people in Stockport to get online, and feel more confident to use computers. That’s not counting all the Digital Champions who help in libraries, or in their communities supporting friends and relatives. If these volunteers were paid a real living wage, it would have cost over £9168 last year.
But what does 764 hours of volunteering do in real life? It’s a learner saying “I wouldn’t have done my physio exercises without your help to use this app” – helping someone stay mobile and active. It’s someone getting their visa to visit a relative for the first time in 20 years, because they had help to do this online. It’s getting to grips with a smart phone that they found terrifying or doing a zoom call to see a grandchild in Australia. It’s being able to use google maps for the first time so “I can get out and about on buses now, the world is my oyster…or the 192 to town is anyway”. Thanks to help from volunteers.
Volunteers week also allows us to shine a light on the benefits volunteering can give to people who get involved and help out. At Starting Point we’ve seen people go on to new careers, improve their mental health, make new friends, build a community, really start to value their own unique skills and experience – and have fun of course. Our social media videos for volunteers week, made by a Starting Point Digital Champion, celebrate volunteers. They also show other people what’s possible if they want to volunteer. Someone new emailed me this week to say “your volunteers seem so friendly and approachable, and I thought, maybe I’ll give that a try”.
This year’s volunteer week certificates say “certificate of dedication” on them. You can’t get more dedicated or patient than the fabulous Digital Champions at Starting Point. Every Digital Champion we know is unique and makes a unique contribution. If someone gives an hour a month, or 6 hours a week, if you can just about use your phone, or you are a tech professional, we appreciate everyone. When we could list 365 ways each volunteer has helped someone this year, and 365 more ways they work as a team, we certainly need to take the time to celebrate them for 7 days a year in Volunteers week.
Volunteers week lets us put a well-deserved spotlight onto Stockport’s unsung heroes of Digital inclusion – thank you Digital Champions!