Destination Cambridge CEO Miff Macdiarmid, left, with some of her army of much-appreciated volunteers.
The thousands of volunteers who keep Cambridge ticking over, often behind the scenes, have been thanked as part of the June 20-26 National Volunteer Week.
Several in-house gatherings were held to recognise volunteers within their groups, while Taupo MP Louise Upston hosted a Monday morning tea for representatives from numerous local organisations at the Avantidrome’s Bikery Café.
She said the array of representatives present just ‘scratched the surface’ of the huge numbers of volunteers who helped in the local community. “The support they give to our young people, to families and the wider community is invaluable,” she said. “Evidence shows that people who volunteer also benefit from the work they do – physically, mentally and in terms of the social connections they create.”
On Monday afternoon, Destination Cambridge hosted an event at Cambridge i-Site for its volunteers. The organisation’s CEO Miff Macdiarmid said that the number of hours chalked up by the 17 who regularly volunteer at i-Site, and others who dropped in periodically over the past six months, amounted to 472.
“That was just counting the work of those who came in. There are many others working in other areas … imagine what they offer in a full year. They bring with them a huge array of skills. I don’t think the i-Site could operate without them,” she said.
Destination Cambridge chairman Philip Coles, who is a volunteer with the organisation, said i-Site volunteers were often the first faces visitors see. “They do a phenomenal job. The world would be a much poorer place if it weren’t for our volunteers.”
National Volunteer Week 2021 celebrates the time given by volunteers around the country. The theme this year, ‘Recognise, Connect, and Reimagine’, inspires volunteers to record the most touching moments from their volunteering experience and to ‘reimagine’ ideas around what volunteering means to them.
