This week (1st to 7th June) is National Volunteers’ Week. In this blog editorial assistant Eilís pays tribute to our brilliant volunteers.
Volunteers are essential to the work that Macmillan does. Whilst we have almost 2,000 paid members of staff, we have roughly 20,000 volunteers!
Volunteering at Macmillan
Each volunteer makes a meaningful difference to people living with and affected by cancer – from our enthusiastic Cheerpoint Volunteers at the London Marathon, to our Buddy Volunteers across the regions, to our esteemed board of trustees. By offering up their time and energy, each volunteer brings a wealth of experience, expertise and skills to their role. For more information on how you can volunteer with us and our very wide range of volunteering opportunities, visit Macmillan’s Volunteering Village.
The annual Volunteers’ Conference
A couple of weeks ago, two members of the CID team were lucky enough to attend the Macmillan Volunteers’ Conference. They had an excellent day. Volunteers were able to network and attend sessions, talks and workshops by guest speakers. The event was an opportunity for Macmillan volunteers to come together, meet each other, learn new skills and gain information about roles.
The Volunteers’ Conference is also a celebration of our volunteers. National and regional awards were given to individuals who have shown outstanding service, who have gone above and beyond the remit of their roles. Find out more about this year’s winners here.
We hope to see you there next year!
Volunteering in the Cancer Information Development team
One of the best parts of my job is volunteer management. I engage with our volunteers on a daily basis, whether to discuss current projects or find out what they did at the weekend!
The volunteers who help us in the CID team play a very specific and important role. They read our information and use their personal experience to give feedback and help us improve.
We also have a group of professional reviewers. They check our information is clinically accurate and up to date. Their input is vital.
You can read our cancer information, all of it reviewed by our volunteers, here, and order our booklets and audiobooks for free here. Each of our audiobooks can also be accessed in just a few clicks, on Soundcloud.
This year, 26 of our volunteer reviewers achieved the 5 year long service award and 24 achieved the 10 year long service award. We are so appreciative of their dedication and support!
Adriana is one of our volunteer reviewers who has just achieved her 10 year long service award. She told me what volunteering means to her:
Adriana also explained what she enjoys about her reviewing role:
I also spoke to Irene, who recently received our 10 year long service award. She explained what she enjoys about her reviewing role:
She also described other volunteering roles she does for Macmillan, such as book reviewing:
Thank you to Adriana and Irene, and for all the contributions made by our volunteer reviewers. You are all amazing! We are extremely appreciative every time a reviewer generously offers to comment on a booklet (or two!) or agrees to help us on short notice.
They are wonderful individuals whose willingness to give up their time when they already have busy and demanding lives, is incredibly admirable.
From all of us here in CID, thank you!
To see what else Macmillan's cancer information team has been blogging about, please visit our blog home page! You can subscribe to receive our blogs by email or RSS too.
We're with you every step of the way
The Macmillan team is here to help. Our cancer support specialists can answer your questions, offer support, or simply listen if you need a chat. Call us free on 0808 808 00 00.
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