It’s Volunteers’ Week (3-9 June) and Carers’ Resource wants to say a huge thank you to its dedicated volunteers for the invaluable contribution they make to help the charity support thousands of unpaid carers.
Carers’ Resource has a team of around 140 volunteers who play an important role in the services and support offered by the charity to unpaid carers in the Bradford, Harrogate, Craven and Selby areas.
Anyone interested in joining the charity’s enthusiastic team of volunteers is encouraged to get in touch.
To celebrate Volunteers’ Week, Carers’ Resource will be holding social events just for its volunteers to thank them for their commitment and efforts.
Heidi Watson, CEO at Carers’ Resource, said: “We are so grateful to our volunteers for the vital role they play in helping us support thousands of unpaid carers. A big thank you from myself and everyone at Carers’ Resource for helping make a difference to the lives of carers and the people they care for.”
One of the charity’s amazing volunteers is Wendy Morfill, who helps to run two monthly groups in the Bradford area for parent carers of children with special educational needs.
Wendy, who has been a Carers’ Resource volunteer for nearly three years, said: “I am a parent carer myself – I have three autistic children. It is quite lonely and isolating.
“One of the things I love about my role is I can go into these groups and I am not shocked by anything that is said. We support one another and give advice.
“For me it is important that parents know they are not alone.”
She added: “I know what it’s like to be in their situations, which is why I wanted to run these groups and support parent carers.”
“I enjoy the sense that I have managed to help somebody and make them smile.
“They feel they have been heard and they have been listened to.”
Wendy described her experience of volunteering for Carers’ Resource as “nothing but positive.”
She said: “All the staff are lovely when I come into the office. It’s a great organisation to volunteer for.”
Lucy Cartwright, Parent Carer Development and Locality Worker at Carers’ Resource, said: “Wendy has been such a valuable source of support for the carers – she has used her personal experience and knowledge of being a parent carer to empathise and reach out to others.
“Her hard work has meant we have been able to keep groups running that otherwise would not be there and I would personally like to thank Wendy for all of her hard work and ongoing commitment to creating support for other parent carers.”
If you are interested in volunteering with Carers’ Resource and finding out about the volunteering opportunities the charity has available, please visit: https://www.carersresource.org/get-involved/volunteer-for-us/