Volunteers' Week

Safirah from Essex - a young fundraising volunteer

Safirah volunteers with her family doing bag packing and collections at her local M&S in Essex. At one particular tombola, they managed to collect an incredible £730 – twice as much as they thought they would. 

To anyone thinking of volunteering in a group, Safirah says, 'When you're with your family it just makes it more exciting - you have a laugh. Volunteering helps you appreciate life more, it reminds you that we’re all human at the end of the day. We’re all the same.’

Gary from Cumbria - a challenge event volunteer

Gary is a Volunteer Award winner, who has completed numerous challenges including climbing Kilimanjaro, cycling across Brazil, trekking in New Zealand, and many marathons and half marathons.

Gary’s Macmillan fundraising efforts began in 2003 and they have continued ever since. One of his latest challenges has been to run 100 marathons in 100 days. He did this because in memory of his dad who would have been 80 years old last year, and to mark 20 years since his diagnosis. His 100th marathon was the London marathon and it was the fastest he had run throughout the training. 

The 100 marathons raised an astonishing £103,000.

Richard from Northampton - a 'paint and fix' volunteer

Richard is a company stock manager at Travis Perkins and Benchmarx. He started volunteering in 2015 on a ‘paint and fix’ project, where volunteers do practical jobs around the home for people affected by cancer. Richard says, ‘It was a great experience to get out of the office and give our support first hand to someone affected by cancer. It allowed me to gain an insight of the breadth of services Macmillan offers and I’d absolutely offer my support again.’ 

Richard feels proud to give his time to Macmillan. He says, ‘What motivates me is being able to support someone who is going through a tough time. My advice to future volunteers would be to have confidence and get involved where possible in any opportunities that come your way.’