Volunteers’ Week celebrates the contributions volunteers make to communities across the UK.
Shaw Trust has 500 volunteers who give around 100,000 hours each year. Our volunteers give their time across a variety of areas of Shaw Trust, including employment support, retail, and rehabilitation. These are 500 people who not only believe in our purpose and mission but give their time and expertise to directly support it.
Over 200 of our volunteers can be found in the 23 charity retail shops.
These shops are located in high streets across the UK, in the heart of the communities we support. In 2023 our retail shops raised over £1 million to put back into the organisation to make sure our support can continue.
“Shaw Trust helped me get furniture for my new house and made me feel good about moving in.”
“I haven’t ever had such personal service and made to feel like a human being in the mainstream shops. I’ll be back – Thank you!!”
Our volunteers support young people just starting out in their careers.
They provide mentoring sessions that empower people to find fulfilling work and greater independence. 99% of volunteers who completed our annual survey said that they feel proud to say that they volunteer for Shaw Trust.
“I now have a clear understanding of how to handle certain situations such as anxiety, stress, and depression, and how to manage my feeling when negative feedback is given.”
“They really made me look at things in a different way, thank you so much!”
“I enjoy making a real impact by seeing the participants I work with progress.”
“I enjoy the friendship of the other volunteers. The customer contact is great and gives me a sense of purpose.”
Colleague Volunteering
Shaw Trust knows how important volunteering is and encourages colleagues to get out into their communities and try something different.
Each colleague has two days of paid leave to dedicate to volunteering, whether that be inside of Shaw Trust or externally in their community. From seal rescues to garden transformations and food banks to charity shops, 250 colleagues took their volunteering days in the last year.
This week and every week, we want to say a huge thank you to every person who has dedicated their time volunteering with Shaw Trust. Every minute given is a small step towards a big impact on somebody’s life.
“It was so different from my day job – but I’m all about helping others. It’s really good to get away from the desk for a bit and to get stuck in to something different.” Claire, colleague
“I really enjoyed doing something different for the day and it was a great opportunity to see first-hand the dedicated work our retail teams deliver day in day out that help fund the services we offer as a charity.” Martin, colleague
Volunteering opportunities
If you have been encouraged to explore the world of volunteering, check out our current volunteering opportunities here or email volunteers@shaw-trust.org.uk to find out more.
