Celebrating Volunteering

How do you thank your volunteers? National Volunteers' Week was the perfect opportunity for the Solihull Volunteer Management Forum to play its part in thanking some of the people who volunteer within Solihull.

Our contribution to the week long national celebrations of volunteering was a celebration event at the Ramada Hotel, Solihull, on 1st June. The conference room and facilities were provided free of charge by the hotel.

The aim of the event was to thank local volunteers for their much valued work and to raise the profile of voluntary community groups and charities in Solihull, who couldn't maintain their current levels of provision without their volunteer workforce.

The Lord Mayor, Councillor Ian Courts, came along to present certificates of appreciation to all that attended. The Lawrie School of Dance very kindly provided the entertainment and four local ladies volunteered their services as beauty therapists to pamper our guests at no cost.

Organisations that attended, from some 600 in Solihull's third sector, included Making Space, Sustain, Solihull Rethink, Age Concern, Voice UK, Chelmsley Wood Advice and Resource Agency (CARA), Cancer Research UK, Park View Day Centre, Mobility Advice Line and 20 other agencies. One staff member and one volunteer were invited to attend from each organisation. 

The Chairman of Sustain and the Lord Mayor spoke of the value of volunteering to the community, the inspirational role of volunteering, and it's contribution to the local economy, in terms of the roles and activities that volunteers undertake which complement statutory services.