Volunteers Week 2023 is fast approaching, so here are some ways to prepare for it! Volunteers Week is the annual celebration of volunteers in the UK. The important week is all about recognising and celebrating the hard work of volunteers. 

When is it taking place?

Volunteers Week will be taking place from the 1st – 7th of June. The week takes place in the Month Of Community, which is a whole month of dedicating time to come together to celebrate everything that makes communities great. Other events in the Month Of Community include Small Charities Week and The Big Lunch.

Volunteer-involved organisations across the UK will run activities to honour volunteers. Various activities will be taking place from volunteer recruitment events and open days to celebration and recognition events.

A range of partners help to make Volunteers Week special each year. This year’s partners include National Council for Voluntary Organisations, Volunteer Scotland, Volunteer Now (Northern Ireland) and Wales Council for Voluntary Action. Click here if you are interested in getting in touch and becoming a partner for 2023!

How to prepare and get involved

Volunteers Week is just a couple of months away so it might be a good idea to start planning now. There are many small ways you can recognise your volunteers which don’t need to break the bank! 

Social Media 

Social media is an easy, free and effective way of recognising your volunteers which can be shared with all of your followers. Use the hashtag #VolunteersWeek to say thank you to your volunteers. You can share stories of the impact your volunteers have made and encourage them to share their own volunteering journies. 

Celebrations

You could host small parties or awards nights to celebrate your volunteers. Highlight your volunteers’ successes to show them how their hard work has helped your organisation. You can show them the impact they have made within the organisation and reward them with a certificate. Volunteers Week have a free certificate template you can use here. 

Events

Running an event is a great way to get everyone together and spread the message. The Big Lunch is a great example of this. The event for neighbours and communities takes place every year in the UK. Running an event doesn’t have to be expensive, it can be run online or in a local park. You can then spread the word by promoting the event on social media! 

Here are some tips for planning your event.

Recruit and support

You can use Volunteers Week to promote the benefits of volunteering to help gain interest and encourage others to volunteer for your organisation or volunteering programme. You can also promote training for your volunteers to keep them supported, NCVO offers plenty of training material which can be found on their website. 

We have some ideas from previous blog posts for celebrating and recognising your own volunteers’ hard work which you can read here and here. 

Resources to use

The Volunteers Week website has lots of free resources you can start using now to promote the week. You can encourage your volunteers to share the resources on their social media pages too! 

Start getting involved and celebrate and inspire volunteers around the UK!

If you’re looking for a volunteer management system, why not take a look at us? You can start a FREE trial over on our website or book a demo! 

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