Macmillan Column: Why our volunteers are so valuable

IT’S almost the end of March, and I’m not quite sure where the start of the year has gone! I know as the weather starts to improve, people will want to get out and about and will be looking for new things to do.

There is only so much I can do each day and that’s why volunteers are vital to Macmillan. They help us reach more people. 

Their local knowledge and networks make a huge difference. 

We rely on their help in so many ways, from delivering talks about their own experiences, by holding fantastic fundraising events to collecting. 

We have a group of volunteers now who are helping us collect in the local supermarkets. 

Each hour they volunteer could fund a Macmillan Nurse for an hour, what an amazing thing to do with your time! 

In Rotherham, we urgently need volunteers to help in all these ways. 

For example, we need someone who is willing to represent Macmillan in the community attending cheque presentations or talking about our work. 

People can give a few hours to join in with our supermarket collections.

We’d also love to bring together a group of people to work together as part of a Macmillan group. 

Do you like organising events? Or are you good at organisation and planning, dealing with people, handling finances and accounts, marketing and publicity, or administration? 

If you have any of these skills you might just provide the missing piece of the bigger jigsaw!

We’d love to hear from anyone who is interested, not matter how small or large you think your contribution can be. 

I’d like to say a big thank you to our existing volunteers in Rotherham. 

They do a wonderful job, we’re very grateful for the help they give and we welcome any new help we can get. 

We rely 99 per cent on public donations to fund our work and every £28 raised helps us to fund another hour of nursing care locally.

If you are interested in becoming a Macmillan volunteer, joining a fundraising group or would like further information, please call Amy Hebdon on 07710 307050 or email [email protected] 

Amy Hebdon is the fundraising manager for Macmillan Cancer Support in Rotherham. Each month she updates The Rotherham Advertiser readers on the latest stories and developments by supporters across the town.