Volunteers’ Week 2023: when is it, what is this year's theme and NationalWorld team's own experiences

Volunteers’ Week is a chance to recognise the contribution people make in their communities and is celebrated by smaller grassroot organisations and larger household name charities. This is an annual event to celebrate the effort and time people put into helping their communities or further help causes that are dear to them. 

In recognition, hundreds of events are taking place, in person and online, which include recruitment days and workshops, as well as individual recognition events. Millions of people across the UK volunteer in some capacity and there are some easy ways to get involved. So when is volunteering week, what is this year's theme and how can you get involved. 

When is Volunteers’ Week 2023 and what is this year’s theme? 

Volunteers’ Week is an annual event taking place between 1 June and 7 June. It was first established in 1984 by Volunteering England, but is now coordinated by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NVCO). This year, the theme is to celebrate and inspire those who are making a difference by participating in their community. To observe this theme, there are many different ways the NVCO website has to run events, or celebrate their volunteers. 

Examples of celebrating volunteers could include planning presentations or awards evenings, parties, or mini festivals. Some organisations may opt to send thank you cards and small gifts to their volunteers or display thank you messages via social media. To raise awareness, organisations create a physical presence, and drive open fairs, recruitment events and give training and induction events to those wanting to volunteer. This could be used in conjunction with breakfasts or quiz nights to celebrate current volunteers and inspire more people to take part. 

Volunteer stories 

According to NVCO, 16.3 million people have volunteered through a group, club or organisation in 2020/21, with most people formally volunteering at some point in their lives. The pandemic saw almost one in five (17%) people reportedly volunteering at least once-a-month which is about 9.2 million people. In terms of less visible volunteering, which is informal and includes a wider range of activities including unpaid help for someone who is not a relative, 54% of the population (29.4 million) volunteered informally at least once- a-year and 33% (17.9 million) did so at least once a month on 2020/21. 

At NationalWorld, some of our team members have shared their volunteer stories. One team member volunteered at a charity shop, with the belief in the value of volunteering and giving back to the community during their teenage years, every Saturday morning at 10am. 

Another member of the team got into volunteering after spotting the Volunteers’ Week hashtag being used by Beat - UK's leading eating disorder charity. They said that after some training, they became an online mentor for three years and to try and help young people through some of their struggles. She said: “I am now an ambassador for the charity. It's incredibly rewarding to see someone flourish in the face of such great challenges.”

A third team member said they have raised over £10,000 for three charities in Ireland, and have volunteered consistently ever since - from visiting care homes to local film festivals - which are usually LGBTQ+ adjacent. She said: “I like to see change and often this is stuff that gets bypassed unless we shout for it.”

How to get involved 

If you’d like to get involved, the easiest way to start would be to look at a volunteer centre. NVCO has an online function which will help you find your nearest volunteer centre. Additionally, there are more than a million volunteering opportunities which can be searched for online, and can range from anything such as retail, online counselling and even volunteering at theatres. 

CharityJob has plenty of options for opportunities in the UK, so something may catch your eye. Following the #VolunteersWeek hashtag may also give some indication of the types of roles available. Volunteering doesn’t have to be formal, it can be something small such as helping an elderly neighbour, which means you can get started whenever you want.