Garden House Hospice Care has marked Volunteers’ Week 2020 with a heartfelt thank you to its 600-strong team of remarkable volunteers.

Volunteers’ Week takes place between June 1-7 every year and shines a spotlight on the vital role volunteers play in charities across the country.

More than 38 per cent of the UK population volunteer at least once a year, with 22 per cent volunteering at least once a month.

Garden House Hospice Care is celebrating the week by thanking their incredible team and raising awareness of the work so many people put in to serve the community.

Senior voluntary services advisor, Rukia Augustine said: “Our volunteers are absolutely vital to continue the work we do at the hospice. What astonishes me is the number of volunteers who give up their time, come rain or shine.

“Our strapline as a hospice is ‘Started by the Community, Serving the Community, Sustained by the Community’ – and this is no more true than the case in our volunteering team.

“From one hour per week to a few hours a day, our team of over 600 volunteers make a huge difference and save us over £500,000 a year in staffing costs which we wouldn’t be able to sustain.”

One such volunteer, Laura-Leigh Gilbert, is a student at Highfield school and began volunteering at the Letchworth Garden City hospice shop last February.

She said: “I like everything about working in the shop. It has helped to build my confidence when speaking to people and I have also learnt new skills. I now go in at the weekend and help from 10am to 3pm. One of the reasons I wanted to continue volunteering was down to the lovely friendships I formed. I now find myself making sure that some of the older ladies that come in to volunteer are not shy, by making an effort to engage with them. I also see the positive effect that I am having on the shop. Before I started working there, lots of clothes needed to be tagged, priced and hung out on the shop floor, which I helped to do. I could really see the impact I made by getting the work done.”

To find out more about flexible volunteering opportunities at the hospice, contact 01462 679540 or email volunteers@ghhospicecare.org.uk.