03/06/2019 - Permalink

Council celebrates work of Shropshire’s volunteering community

Related topics: Community / Partner organisations

Volunteers Week has kicked off this week to recognise and celebrate the fantastic contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK.

Throughout the week we’ll be issuing stories from some of the thousands of volunteers in Shropshire who dedicate their free time to help improve the lives and communities throughout our county.

Volunteers Week 2019

Volunteers Week 2019

People volunteer at different times of their lives and for many different reasons. It may be that you want to

  • Get involved with your local community
  • Meet new people or make new friends
  • Learn new skills
  • Pass on your skills and experience to others
  • Keep fit and active
  • Do something that makes you feel good.

Shropshire Council has many volunteers that support services such as libraries, outdoor recreation, adult social care, archives, emergency planning, public protection and many more.

All ages can get involved. Examples include maintaining footpaths, leading walking groups, reading to others, maintaining museum collections, organising social groups, under-age sales checks, and many more activities.

Gwilym Butler, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for communities, place planning and regulatory services, said:-

“Volunteering and voluntary groups are the life blood of many of our communities across Shropshire. It’s great that this is recognised by a national Volunteers Week, and I would recommend that if you don’t volunteer already that you think about doing so soon – there’s nothing better than helping somebody else and putting a smile on their face to make you feel good about yourself.”

Clive Wright, Shropshire Council’s chief executive, said:-

“We should regularly thank our staff who volunteer, and Volunteers Week is a good opportunity to repeat that thanks and take the time to celebrate the volunteering work they do, and the incredible difference they make. Through their generosity and ongoing support volunteers make Shropshire an even better place to live and work.

“We would also like to thank all volunteers, whether that’s our own staff or the public, who support many of our services.”

 

If you don’t already volunteer, Volunteers Week is also a good opportunity to consider volunteering yourself. There are many benefits:

  • Learning new skills
  • Making new friends
  • Helping others
  • Keeping fit and active
  • Gaining self confidence
  • Improving employability
  • Having fun.

For more information about Volunteers Week visit https://volunteersweek.org/