Today we are celebrating our Online Community Champions during National Volunteers week 2024. In this blog we are sharing some of the kind words you have shared about the Community Champions alongside sharing what volunteering on the site means to some of our Champions.
The Community Champions are a dedicated team of volunteers here on the Online Community. They are members who found the site to be really helpful and wanted to give something back. Our Champions offer support and a listening ear. They help new members find their way around the site. Community Champions also help the Community team to keep the site safe for everyone.
Currently we have 25 Community Champions who volunteer in different forums across the Community:
Beesuit, Branoc, chellesimo, chris2012, court, Daisy53, DaveyBo, GBear, GRANNY59, Irishgirl16, jane2511, Kasvin, latchbrook, lesleyhelen, Lowedal, MikeO, Millibob, Nikki65, rily, SarahH21, sistermoon, src60, Thehighlander, vulval cancer warrior, and Weemee
We asked our Online Community Champions to tell us what Volunteering means to them and why they decided to take on the Community Champion role. Here are some of their answers:
“I was supported by some wonderful community champions and other members of the online community during my cancer journey and that is why I wanted to help out now.” - Jane2511
“Macmillan make volunteering so easy and flexible so even with a busy job, I can fit it in. It means a lot to me to be able to share my experience to help others and to give something back.” - Irishgirl16
“After my diagnosis, I joined the Community and received some fantastic help and support - my journey was explained to me in simple easy to understand words and I found the Community members to be an inspiration in helping me through the difficult times when I needed help from people who "understand" where I was. After a short period of time on the Community I felt able to start putting back in what I had already had out.
I am proud to be a Community Champion for just 9 months. Being able to help others who are in the same place I was 29 months ago makes being a volunteer so satisfying. I have learned so much about people, life, and sadly death. I have improved my computer skills, I have discovered empathy for others - but most of all it's made me a better person and I now have the confidence to deal with almost anything not only on the forum dealing with my specific cancer but throughout the entire online Community.
As a Community Champion, I can pick and choose when I am online and I find that "every day is a school day" as when you log onto the Community you have just no idea of what the day will bring - but the satisfaction of helping others - strangers you will never meet - is so rewarding, and when I log off I always feel I have achieved something.” - Millibob
Recently Jane wrote A lighthouse in someone’s storm- Being an Online Community Champion. Click on the link to read the blog where she shares her experience as an Online Community Champion.
If you are interested in giving back to the Online Community, please read this page and contact the Online Community team if you have any questions.
“A huge thank you to all the champions, I hope you know how valuable you are to answer our concerns and who to go to for help. Thank you”
“Big thanks to all the Community Champions, thanks for giving up your time to help us.”
"A big thank you to our Community Champions, who are never far away and respond quickly to new posts directing many to the information needed at a touch."
"Thank you so so much for your long, informative, and very supportive message. It means so much to me that there is one person out there who really understands what this is like from their own experience and who can take the time to read what I say and respond to it with helpful advice and empathy."
"A very big thank you for your communication. It's wonderful to have Community Champions."
“Everyone is very friendly & supportive & there is no question that is considered too stupid to ask. Community Champions are worth their weight in gold & do a great job.”
“You can ask a question and you will get replies, some from the Macmillan Champions who are brilliant and always answer posts”
“The Community Champions who have come through the same cancer and treatment as me - their info & support is wonderful.”
Use the comment box below to send a thank you message to the Community Champions 
“We feel incredibly proud and humbled to work with our Online Community Champions. They are selfless individuals who all bring so much to the forum. Their dedication and compassion is inspiring, and without them, the Community would not be what it is today. A huge thank you from all of us on the Online Community team."
