This week is National Volunteer Week a time to celebrate the amazing and selfless work of volunteers. Our volunteers enable more flexible and personalised services for our service users. Our volunteers are an amazing asset that help with the smooth running of our services always showing up with a smile and maybe even some delicious treats to share with everyone.

Why do people volunteer?
People volunteer for a variety of reasons, some of which would be to gain experience to help them get paid employment, to gain confidence/ self-esteem, to access new skills, to improve their cv or university application, to try something new, to meet people, or quite often to do something with their time that they feel is worthwhile. In Cedar quite a few of our volunteers have been former service users, who have so appreciated how the service has helped them that they now want to give of their time to help others in a similar situation as theirs.

     

What difference it makes to Cedar & our services?

Volunteers are seen as a valued part of our work team. Having volunteers on board really enhances our services. They can provide that extra support in a 1:1 or group setting. They are a positive role models to others with their can-do attitude.  The extra support enables us to provide a more flexible, personalised service to our service users. 

Their impact on service users?

Across all our services volunteers turn up with a smile and brighten up the lives of all those they come in contact with.  The volunteers within our Community Inclusion Services for children and young people for example have supported the Youth Matters team to set up cultural and diversity activities, supported the delivery of Autism and Disability Awareness training and set up and hosted an International Woman's Day Event.

  

Cedar volunteers have stepped up in these challenging times and have looked at volunteering in different ways to continue in their supporting roles. This includes using the different technologies such as Zoom, WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams – they’re not afraid to learn new skills!

      

Finally, for volunteering to be right it has to be enjoyable for all, it has to properly be a two way process in that both the organisation/service user and the volunteer gain from the experience and, in Cedar, we strive to ensure this happen.

I would like to take this opportunity at the start of Volunteers Week to say a big THANK YOU to all of our volunteers, Cedar really appreciates the time and dedication you so readily give to our services.

Sean`s Volunteering Story

Watch the final video thanking all of the amazing volunteers who volunteer for the Cedar Foundation, click on the image below