Various photos of some of our Volunteers

To celebrate Volunteers' Week, we're sharing the lovely messages of appreciation that have been coming in to thank our brilliant volunteers. We're also taking a look at the fantastic things the service has achieved this past year - and sharing a sneak peek of some of the future plans for Volunteering Services.

We currently have 209 active volunteers, and colleagues have been sharing their messages of appreciation:

Lead Cancer Nurse, Caroline Summers, said: "Your time, compassion, and dedication make such a difference to our patients, their families, and our staff. Your presence embodies the spirit of care that we strive for every day."

Lead Nurse for Children and Young People, Julie Mellor, said: "A heartfelt thank you to all the fantastic volunteers and a "woof of thanks" to pet therapy dogs who have supported with the launch of the Children and Young People Trustwide Strategy."

Volunteering Services Lead, Stevie Cheesman, said: "Our volunteers are the heart in our One Culture of Care and Compassionate Care. They are the true unsung heroes at CHFT."

More messages of appreciation can be seen in the below PDF document. There's still time to share your own message of appreciation if you'd like to.

Activity over the past year:

  • May 2024 - Volunteering Services was established
  • July 2024 - The volunteering group policy was given a refresh
  • September 2024 - The recruitment policy was restructured
  • Early 2025 - A brand new role was established and embedded into the Children and Young People (CYP) strategy - the CYP Volunteers.
  • April 2025 - Volunteering Services steering group held their first event

Future plans:

  • New role of Meal Support Volunteers
  • New role of Wellbeing and Engagement Volunteers - due to the success of the CYP volunteers
  • Developing Care Club internal volunteers (to support operational colleagues)

All this week there will be a 'get to know me' stall run by our volunteers, which will provide an opportunity to meet some of our valuable volunteers and get to know them a bit better. The stall will be in the main entrance at HRI. 

Article Attachments