At TOG Mind, out mission is to continue to provide the best quality local mental health services in prevention, early intervention and primary care; alongside empowering individuals and our communities to live well.
We wanted to hold a Volunteer Celebration. This was to retain and recognise our current volunteers.
We wanted to do this as acknowledging the contribution made by volunteers shows that our organisation appreciates and values volunteers' input, skills, time, and commitment. We wanted volunteers to feel valued and supported. If volunteers, feel appreciated they are more likely to continue volunteering.
The plan was for it to take place within the office on a weekend, when the office is closed to clients. We have held this celebration annually for the last 4 years.
The aim was to deliver a successful event in which current volunteers got to socialise with each other, and we could also acknowledge the time and effort each of our volunteers give by providing food, activities and certificates.
A task group was set up with weekly meetings to discuss how we would meet this objective.
We held a successful event! The main objective of this celebration was to acknowledge and appreciate the time and effort our volunteers have generously given to support our organisation. During the event, we held a small ceremony where volunteers received certificates of appreciation. Refreshments were provided to create a warm and inviting atmosphere.
This celebration aims to not only recognise the hard work and dedication of our volunteers but also to strengthen their connection to our charity. They had time to socialise with each other and there was a feedback activity where we took on some useful information about our volunteering offer. Our next steps are to work with the feedback and make changes where needed as well as holding regular events for our volunteers to continue to get together.
Feedback about the event was great with one participant sending an email afterwards to say - "Thank you and all for a lovely couple of hours. It was good to meet so many other volunteers and hear such success stories. And it was all very bright and Christmassy and delicious."