Celebrating volunteers week 2024

This week is National Volunteers Week. We are so grateful to our 4,000 amazing volunteers. They give us their time, skills and enthusiasm for free, helping in our retail shops, supporting our services and working in our office.

To mark National Volunteer’s Week, we had a chat with some of our brilliant retail volunteers. We asked them what they enjoy most about volunteering for Scope. And what advice they have for someone who is thinking about becoming a volunteer. If you’re considering volunteering, read on to find out why you should give it a go.

Annette

Annette has been a retail volunteer for 2 and a half years.

“As someone who absolutely loves books, I find it a joy to sort through the book donations and see what customers have brought in.

As part of my volunteer role, I love to do community outreach work with a youth collective of young disabled people and have attended art exhibitions that this collective has put together.

I enjoy being part of a busy team committed to each other and to Scopes mission and work. A big part of that is that I enjoy the diversity of the work at Scope and the environment.

I feel very lucky and privileged to volunteer and to be involved in different ways.

I am passionate about outcomes and doing work such as this is an intrinsic part of my life and my own values that align with those of Scope.

Working for scope helps to fill my passion of working for positive outcomes for people. I feel I am part of a brilliant organisation.

Ruth

Ruth started volunteering with Scope in February 2024.

“I wanted to get back out into the world of work after a brief period of not working.  Taking that step can make you feel nervous. But now I encourage family and friends to participate in volunteering and share with them the benefits and positive outcomes that volunteering can have. For me, it really helped to bridge the gap.

I really like it when customers come in and I can see the difference we make to their lives, especially knowing that many people are struggling financially in today’s financial climate.

Volunteering gives you so much back. You can gain new experiences and skills. It can help with loneliness and can give you confidence and pride in your role. It helps to give structure to your week and meet new friends.

I really would encourage people of all ages and circumstances to participate. My journey shows that even after a break from being in the world of work, you can get back out there and embrace it!”

Tom

Tom has been volunteering at Scope for 12 years.

“When I first began volunteering at Scope, I was very shy and didn’t talk much. I am now a confident lead volunteer and love to help my fellow volunteer team and wonderful managers.

I love getting to know and talk to customers that are regular and new.

Volunteering is great for building confidence. You meet new people, make friends, and learn new skills as well as improving on current skills.

You will find when you come to volunteer at Scope that there is a lot of support from other volunteers who understand what it is like to start in a new role.

For school leavers and for those in college I would highly recommend giving these roles a try because it can help you to make progress and gain new skills.

Since working at Scope, I have been able to get a part time paid job and could not have done this without the great support from management.”

If someone is thinking of becoming a volunteer, I would say ‘Do it!’ It gives you a change and a purpose and you meet lots of nice people. Also, you are doing it for such a good reason.”

Join us!

We want to say a big thank you to Ruth, Annette and Tom for sharing their stories with us.

Are you interested in joining our community of volunteers? From shop assistant to employment service volunteer, there are loads of ways you can help us achieve an equal future for disabled people? Find out more about volunteering at Scope.