06 Jun Volunteers’ Week UK 2023
What is Volunteers’ Week?
The 1st to the 7th of June marks Volunteers’ Week in the UK, which this year celebrates its 39th Year! Volunteers’ Week is an annual celebration that recognises the positive contribution of volunteers to their communities around the UK. It is all about celebrating and inspiring others to get involved in volunteering in whatever way works for them.
WWA’s volunteers & fundraisers
Over March of this year, we celebrated B-Corp month by sharing our stories of some of the volunteer projects our teams got involved with, including willow coppicing, clean-ups, and forestry maintenance. So far, we have counted 336 hours of volunteering, and continue to get involved with different volunteering and fundraising activities.
Fida Haque (Quantity Surveyor) from our London office, has recently returned from a 10-day humanitarian aid and development trip to Gambia supporting the NGO, International Association Ahmadi Architects & Engineers (IAAAE). IAAAE provide clean water and renewable energy sources to some of the most remote villages in Africa. They also support the design and construction of schools, hospitals, mosques, and community centres.
Fida’s trip involved assessing the local area for work, consulting, and installing water and solar systems. Within the 10 days of Fida’s trip, groundwork for the borehole was initiated, which will supply water to the whole village.
Fida said: “Using the expertise of engineers and others in construction, we can provide access to basic needs like water and energy.
We praise ourselves on having high a quality maintenance control plan, where we can provide support and repair by our network of engineers around the world, getting people on the ground to resolve any issues.”
Fida continues to work with IAAAE through groundwork and by project managing the national fundraising efforts, alongside work at WWA.
On Sunday 14th May, the Gloucester Team reached the semifinal of the Dragon Boat Festival. This event raised money for the charity, Young Gloucestershire. Supporting young people, the charity works to understand their needs and empower them with skills, confidence, and the motivation to improve their lives.
The team in Plymouth participated in the Burrator 10K charity run to raise money for Trevi, on the 3rd June. Trevi is a charity that provides safe and nurturing spaces for women in recovery to heal and grow. Services include providing rehab and healthcare to housing and employment opportunities.
In Exeter, the team are taking part in the BigWave Business Games. This is an annual event held in Torquay, Plymouth and Exeter to raise money for charities, network and team building. Fundraising this year will support Hospiscare, which provides free and specialised nursing to the terminally ill across Devon. With over 700 patients being supported in their own homes and in the hospice without support from the government or being part of the NHS, this charity relies on the generosity of the community to provide its vital service.
Over the next couple months, the teams will be putting their mental and physical fitness to the test by competing in a mini-Olympics, a pub quiz, treasure hunt and bell-boat racing.
Having completed the first challenge of Clip n Climb, Kai Holland said:
‘I really enjoyed taking part in the Clip n Climb event. Not only was it a fun opportunity to get involved with an activity I would have never done before, but it also felt good knowing my participation was supporting Hospiscare Devon. My favourite part was the leap of faith, where I jumped the maximum distance to catch a bar 6m off the ground. Although I would not recommend throwing yourself off a plank at that height, I would recommend getting involved with the BigWave Games in the future. Likewise, I always have a great experience getting involved with other volunteering activities.’
The beauty of volunteering is that there are so many ways you can get involved, and they can resonate with your values and priorities. You can find something you are passionate about and support others along the way.
A big thank you!
We would like to take the opportunity to celebrate the volunteering and fundraising activities of all our WWA teams this Volunteers’ Week. Their involvement with volunteer-based initiatives provides others with opportunities to receive support and resources that can provide a better quality of life. With acts of kindness and humility, we are one step closer to social equality and environmental stability.
We hope this inspires you to share your skills, expertise and passion to make a difference.
By Yasmine Knox, WWA’s B-Corp Assistant
Links to charities:
These are some of the other charities we are proud to have supported over the past year:
- The Good Law Project
- Sticker Football Club
- Surfers Against Sewage
- RNLI
- The Wave Project
- Crisis
- The Trussell Trust
- James Hopkins Trust via Rotary
- Ukrainian Refugees
- Dogs Trust, Norfolk
- Derriford Hospital
