SAVE THE DATE: Volunteers’ Week celebrates 40th anniversary this summer

• Volunteers’ Week 2024 will launch on Monday 3^rd June and will run through until Sunday 9^th
• Volunteers’ Week is an annual event which sees charities, voluntary groups, social organisations, and volunteers themselves come together to recognise the incredible impact that volunteering has in communities around the UK.
• This year marks the 40^th anniversary of Volunteers’ Week.

Volunteers’ Week is all about celebrating the invaluable contribution which millions of volunteers make to society every day. Volunteering builds connections, grows skills and gives back to society. And it’s been shown to be good for the wellbeing of volunteers too.

To help make sure more people can get involved, we’ve changed the launch date of Volunteers’ Week to be the first Monday in June to start on a weekday. This year, the week-long series of events will kick off on Monday 3^rd June. As part of Volunteers’ Week this year, we will also have the Big Help Out taking place from Friday 7^th to Sunday 9^th June. This is another great opportunity for people from across the UK to come together and experience how rewarding volunteering can be.

“Volunteers are the champions of our communities – they selflessly give up their time and energy to help others, which really does have the power to change lives, for the volunteer and for the communities the organisation serves. There’s no better time to acknowledge and celebrate their invaluable contributions than during Volunteers’ Week. We take great pride in the lasting impact that Volunteers’ Week has had year after year and we’re so proud to be marking the 40^th anniversary this year. We can’t wait to celebrate the contribution volunteers make and help more people find volunteering opportunities in their communities this summer and beyond!”

Volunteers Week is organised by the UK Volunteering Forum, a partnership between NCVO, WCVA (Wales Council for Voluntary Action), Volunteer Scotland and Volunteer Now.

Every year hundreds of events, both online and in-person, take place to celebrate Volunteers’ Week and the huge range of ways in which volunteers give their time. This year will be no different. A wide variety of activities will be happening across the country from volunteer recruitment events and open days to celebration and recognition events.

More information and new branding resources, including a new logo,  will be made available soon at: https://volunteersweek.org/.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• For media enquiries, please contact:
  • In England: press@ncvo.org.uk
  • In Wales: sdowling@wcva.cymru or 029 2043 6596
  • In Scotland: starkie@volunteerscotland.org.uk or 07493 215815
  • In Northern Ireland: jane.gribbin@volunteernow.co.uk
• About Volunteers’ Week: Volunteers’ Week is a long-standing, popular event in the voluntary sector, established in 1984 and now in its 40th year. It is supported and celebrated by small grassroots organisations as well as larger, household-name charities, who together run hundreds of events across the UK. These events showcase and celebrate volunteers and the contribution volunteering makes in our communities.
• Volunteers’ Week is led in partnership by NCVO, WCVA, Volunteer Scotland, and Volunteer Now.