This evening, the Great Hall of the Guildhall was packed full of the army of volunteers that help support the City of London’s operations across London and the Home Counties.
From our volunteer police specials and cadets, to volunteer carers, bridge watch volunteers, the Samaritans, military cadets, independent scrutineers and non-executive board advisors, school governors, volunteers in our art galleries, libraries, the Roman amphitheatre, volunteers at the London Metropolitan Archives, and of course the volunteers who help us maintain and improve the City’s 11,000 acres of parks, gardens, churchyards, plazas, forests and commons.
The reception is designed to say thank-you to those who commitment so much of their time to helping the City’s various interests across the UK thrive, but also to enable better collaboration and understanding between different groups and foster partnerships.
The guests speakers for the event, were the Rt Hon Lord Mayor of London, Alderman and Professor Michael Mainelli and Bridget Hogan. The Lord Mayor thanked volunteers present and reminding guests, “as you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others”. A famous quote from Audrey Hepburn.
Bridget has volunteers at West Wickham Common and Spring Park in Bromley for over 20 years. She spoke passionately about the fact volunteering is a 2-way-street and volunteers render huge benefits from volunteering. She spoke passionately about the sites her team help look after and estimated that over the past 20 years she had donated 50,000 hours of conservation work, which at minimum wage would equate to about a £500,000 donation to our West Wickham charity. Astonishing!
If you are interested in volunteering, there so many different ways to get involved, just reach out and I can help. Whether you’re an individual or a corporate looking for a staff away day which adds value to the local community. Whatever your accessibility needs, we have something for everyone.
My personal thanks to everyone to gives up their time to give something back. We simply couldn’t do all that we do without you!
