Taking a moment to recognise and thank our amazing volunteers during Volunteers Week

Here at Forget Me Not, we now have 347 volunteers, doing everything from family support and volunteering in our charity shops to office work, helping at events and even ironing. In May alone, our volunteers donated 4,004 hours of their time. That’s equivalent to 27 full time members of staff and has saved us over £30,000!

One long-standing volunteer, who has been with us from near the start, is Tina Thorpe. She joined us nearly eight years ago after “retiring too early and realising too late” and then seeing an article about Forget Me Not in the local newspaper.

Tina started out volunteering on the reception and has seen us grow from just a handful of staff supporting no children to a large hospice that now supports over 300 children and families. During this time Tina has counted money, helped out in the office and also worked out in the community. Now Tina comes into the office once a week and also does talks for community groups to help raise awareness and drum up support.

When asked why she has volunteered at Forget Me Not for so long, Tina replies “I love helping the charity and having something to commit to, but it’s also nice to feel appreciated and to be part of a team. I have felt incredibly well-supported over the years and I can recall particular times of trouble where the staff have being there for me. Not only that, but I get to meet lots of new people and it keeps me young and active!”

We are always on the lookout for new volunteers at Forget Me Not, and there are roles to suit lots of different skill sets. You can see our latest volunteering opportunities here.