Volunteer’s Week in the Square

Community Resource, who have been operating in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin since 1960 will be holding a Volunteers Week Celebration event on Saturday June 6th, in the square, in Shrewsbury.
Kim Thompson-Lawrence, Team Leader of the Employability and Enterprise Programme at Community Resource said “in 2025, 33% of adults regularly participated in formal or informal volunteering”. Kim continued “here in Shropshire, we have a considerable amount of organisations who reply on volunteers to carry out a variety of tasks and jobs”.
According to a government survey, the most common roles for formal volunteering were: fundraising, committee work/trustees, and practical help (shopping/gardening). Whilst most informal roles were assisting lonely people, shopping/collecting benefits, and household chores.
Kim continued “it really is important to celebrate each and every single hour that our volunteers give. 88% of organisations in the UK cite volunteers as mission critical, meaning they wouldn’t be able to sustain their services without volunteers”.
Community Resource, based on the Shrewsbury Business Park, relies on volunteers to carry out a wide variety of roles and services including hearing aid support, event support and sight loss opportunity group support as well as the Buddy System which pairs a volunteer with someone who feels isolated and alone, supporting them to take part in local activities, make new friends and get more active.
Kim continued “in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, we have 1,907 registered charities who are supported with 130,746 volunteer hours per week. That equates to 14 million hours per year. Volunteers contribute £222 million in Social Value to the local economies of Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin each year. Those are quite amazing statistics”.
Kim’s team, the Employability and Enterprise Programme also supports 18-30 year olds with volunteering experience to give valuable skills to help in securing permanent employment. The programme also offers a Business Bootcamp for those in that age group interested in setting up their own business.
Community Resource’s Volunteers in the Square event will also be attended by many Shropshire organisations including the Shrewsbury (Football Club) Foundation and Shrewsbury Museums.
Kim said “it promises to be a very interesting day, with lots of exhibitors and interactive demonstrations. We are hoping anyone interested in finding out about volunteering will come along and find something suitable”.