This week is Volunteers' Week! 

Running from 3rd to 9th June, this week is about celebrating the passionate and caring volunteers who give up their time week on week at CamSight, and all over the country for lots of other charities. 

Claire Haggerty, Volunteers’ manager, said: “ It is undoubtedly the biggest week in the volunteering calender, and with the awareness week in its 40^th year, we wanted to make a special effort to acknowledge the hard work our volunteers do to support our services users. We are hosting a party for all volunteers during the week, an afternoon tea to say a big thank you for everything they have done for services users, supporters, and our staff.

“We simply couldn't do our work without the support of our fabulous volunteers, who assist our service users living with a life-changing sight-loss condition. So it's great to have the opportunity to say thank you!"

Anne Ife, whos’ volunteered for CamSight for 17 years, says she finds the relationships with people rewarding and interesting; “I started out driving people to groups, and from there had two befriending roles, one was a lady who was in a wheelchair, so I’d take her out for our meetings, and describe the nature and wildlife around her. We would also go together to the botanical gardens, a CamSight led activity, which she loved. 

“Another lady I would have weekly visits with, was in to family history, and through our work researching her ancestry, she found out that she had half siblings she had never met. It was an incredible discovery, and she was grateful for my support during this time. 

“You can be involved as much, or as little as you would like, but with the range of opportunities at hand, I’ve found it such a lovely experience and one I continue to get a lot from personally.”

If volunteering for CamSight seems like something you would like to be involved with contact, the CamSight Volunteer’s team, on 01223 420033, email: [email protected] or visit the ‘Volunteer With Us’ page on their website:  www.camsight.org.uk 

Photo description: A lady with a grey jumper and short hair smiles at the camera, she is holding a metal teapot and pours tea into a green teacup. She is in a large kitchen with cream cupboards and a microwave in the corner.

Banner description: A lady on the left wearing pink striped shirt and curly hair, a man on her right wearing a blue shirt both smile at the camera, they are sat in a community hall, On the top left hand side of the page is a yellow sticker with black writing which reads Thank You.