💜 International Volunteer Day - 5th December

International Volunteer Day is celebrated every year on 5 December. It was started by the United Nations in 1985 to honour people who volunteer their time and skills to help others. Volunteers work in many areas for lots of different causes and their efforts make a big difference in communities around the world.

Scope's longest serving volunteer

Gillian is an amazing volunteer who has been in our Anlaby shop for 40 years! She was just passing by and after a conversation with the shop manager she began volunteering one afternoon a week. Over the years she has seen children growing up and bringing their own children and grandchildren in!

Here's what Gillian has to say:

“I can’t believe I’ve been here for 40 years. It seems like yesterday that I saw the new charity shop on Hull Road. I knew charity shops need volunteers, although I had worked, I’d never tried volunteering. I popped in to ask about volunteering opportunities and thought it sounded very exciting, especially knowing I’d be helping to make a real difference helping the charity to support disabled people. "

“I realise volunteering isn’t for everyone, but I’d still recommend you give it a try. If you’re not happy doing it, just let the team know and you can end on a high, knowing you’ve given it a go.

“If you’re looking for work experience, volunteering looks great on your CV. or if you want to get out of the house for a few hours, volunteering is a very sociable activity and I can guarantee you’ll make new friends.”

Number crunching

• Gillian has volunteered one afternoon a week for four hours, from 1pm to 5pm meaning she’s volunteered for 8,320 hours for Scope
• Gillian has handled 25 bags of donation during each of her afternoons. This means she’s help handled 48,000 bags for Scope, over 40 years
• Scope estimates each bag of donations is worth £15 therefore Gillian has helped Scope Anlaby to raise, at today’s evaluation, £576,000

Amazing work Gillian, you've been a real asset to Scope. Thank you!

Have you volunteered before?

I've been able to volunteer in a charity shop like Gillian, and as a Family Services Coordinator helping families with young children in need. I found it incredibly rewarding and feel so lucky that I was able to volunteer. There are many volunteering opportunities out there, so why not give it a go?

You can find various volunteering opportunities with us here:

https://www.scope.org.uk/volunteering