Hospice says thank you to its incredible volunteers who give their time, skills and experience

Volunteering is part of the beating heart of the Hospice and we are celebrating Volunteers' Week (1-7 June), by putting the spotlight on the amazing supporters who give their time, skills and experience to help local people who need our love and care.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact on our dedicated volunteers who support every area of the Hospice and over the three national lockdowns, many were unable to continue their roles because of the restrictions in place to keep everyone safe.

Thank you from our CEO

Pam Court, Chief Executive of Saint Francis Hospice, said: "On behalf of all the patients, families and staff, we would like to say a massive thank you to each and every one of our wonderful volunteers who give us their time, skills and experience with so much love and dedication. 

"Our volunteers really are the beating heart of the Hospice and this will never change.

"We know what a challenging year it has been for everyone and as we move forward, we will always look back at 2020/2021 with pride at how, in the most difficult time of our lives, our volunteers did everything they could to make a difference to the lives of local people when they needed it the most.

"For those who've had to shield or couldn't volunteer because the restrictions affected their role, you've always been in our thoughts and we have missed you so much. We've heard so many heart-warming stories so we know many of you never stopped wanting to support us and found new ways to care and support your local community. 

"And to those who were able to continue, such as the volunteers who run our confidential telephone service OrangeLine and our bereavement services to patients and families.  It is testament to your commitment to providing these vital services that you adapted quickly to home working and new technologies so you could be there to listen and support people who are lonely, isolated or bereaved."

Welcoming back our volunteers

With the successful role out of the Covid-19 vaccine and life slowly returning to some kind of normal, we were thrilled to welcome back our retail volunteers when our shops re-opened in April and we are looking forward to seeing more of our volunteers as we work towards restoring services.

Please see the link below to some of the inspirational stories we'll be sharing on our social media channels throughout Volunteers' Week.

• Volunteering brings Louise happiness, friendship and love
• Volunteering helps Holly raise awareness for a subject close to her heart
• Volunteering helped Ann focus while her mum was ill 
• Rita helps the hospice hit the high notes
• Volunteering has inspired Harry's career in care
• Alan gets gardening tips while volunteering alongside our head gardener

You can help raise awareness of the valuable volunteering roles available at the hospice by sharing these stories on your social media channels and tagging us. Please also remember to use the following hashtags #LoveSFH #VolunteersWeek #volunteer.

Become a volunteer

Click here to find out more about volunteering opportunities, or email us at volunteering@sfh.org.uk.