At Macmillan, we are really excited to kick off the month with Volunteers' Week, 1-7 June.
We’re dedicating this time to celebrate and thank all our amazing volunteers for the time they’ve given to help people with cancer live life as fully as they can, over the last year and during this difficult time. Whatever you’re doing right now, whether you’ve had to pause your volunteering or not, your support is valued now more than ever.
In the Online Community, we have additional reason to celebrate and thank our volunteers, as the fantastic Community Champions, have won an incredible award.
You may have seen Community Champions around the different groups on our Community cancer forum, helping welcome and support members. We are so proud of the way they use their own cancer experiences to help others and I’m sure you’ll agree that they are such deserving winners.
‘I have looked around the community a bit and there are certainly some "Champions"....how kind and empathetic they are - such unselfishness to spend time in responding to other is often rare these days.’ - Community Member.
The Award
The Vicky Clement-Jones Award is for an individual or group that:
Click here to read more about the Vicky Clement-Jones Award and some of our previous Volunteer Award winners.
The Community Champions, affectionately known as ‘Our Champs’, are a dedicated team of volunteers that found the Community to be a great place for support and wanted to give something back to the Community members.
Our Champs are a listening ear for those who need it most, helping people affected by cancer feel supported and less alone.
“I reached out on this site and boy I did not think I would get any help or any response. I was so wrong. The people on here saved my life that day. The bond and friendship on here is so strong and genuine I can't live without it now.” – New Community member.
The Champions also report anything to the Community team that breaks our Community guidelines, ensuring that it is a safe place for all members.
You can always recognise our Champions by their badges, displayed in their signatures. They look like this:
At the time of nomination, on average, our Champs dedicated a phenomenal 216 hours a week, night and day, to support the Community. That’s roughly 12,000 hours a year.
At the time, they’d welcomed 1,318 newcomers to our New to the Community group so far that year, only a small percentage of the people they help every day.
Between them, they look after 70+ different groups and support our now 185,000 registered members.
They support the Community day and night, and share their own stories to help others feel less alone.
'Thanks for helping me the other day...you Champs are so full of energy…and mental and emotional energy to help other people! I don't know how you do it…” - Community Member.
Please join us in congratulating and thanking the Community Champions by adding a comment below. Alternatively, if you’d like to send us your feedback privately, or nominate a member to become a Champion, please email us on community@macmillan.org.uk
