How can leaders benefit from volunteering? | Volunteers' Week 2023
- Tuesday, May 30, 2023
- Posted By GM Leadership Hive
In a world that often emphasises the pursuit of personal success and achievement, the concept of leadership can sometimes be misunderstood. Authentic leadership, however, extends beyond the confines of positional authority and encompasses a more profound commitment to service and selflessness. While leadership itself carries with it a responsibility to guide and inspire others, being a volunteer takes this responsibility to a higher level by actively engaging in acts of compassion, empathy, and community building. Let's take action to get involved in the Volunteer's Week 2023 to make a positive difference to yourself and influence others.
What is Volunteers' Week?
Volunteers' Week is an annual event that takes place from 1st to 7th of June, which sees all the different parties, such as charities, voluntary groups, social organisations etc., come together to recognise the incredible impact that volunteering has in communities around the UK. In its 39th year, the theme 'Celebrate and Inspire' aims to highlight diversity in volunteering and demonstrate the many ways everyone can get involved with it.
What does Volunteers' Week mean to a leader?
To a leader, Volunteers' Week holds significance in several ways:
Leaders can express gratitude and recognise the efforts of their volunteers during this Week or even the volunteer work done during the year. It is a chance to highlight volunteers' value to an organisation or community and show appreciation for their dedication and contributions. Recognising and publicly thanking volunteers' achievements can foster a sense of belonging, motivation, and loyalty among the volunteer base.
Leaders can leverage Volunteers' Week to inspire and motivate others to engage in volunteer work. By sharing stories of volunteers' impact and highlighting the benefits of volunteering, leaders can encourage more individuals to get involved in causes they care about.
Leaders can act as role models for their staff by participating in volunteering activities and demonstrating their commitment to service and community. In addition, it creates a positive environment where volunteers feel valued and motivated to continue their involvement.
Leading can be a stressful role, and taking time out from their daily tasks to volunteer can be a good opportunity for them to relax and rebuild. It is suitable for their wellbeing and resilience. When you do something completely different, you can learn new skills from others and inspire yourself further.
Volunteers' Week allows leaders to showcase their organisation's mission, values, and the positive impact it has on the community. By highlighting the work of volunteers, leaders can demonstrate how their organisation is making a difference and attracting more volunteers, supporters, and potential beneficiaries.
How can you get involved?
With the theme 'Celebrate and Inspire', we need to share our story to inspire others, create a positive impact and celebrate with the community. Here at the Growth Company, we take great pride in celebrating the success of our colleagues as they undertake volunteering activities. We offer two days a year to dedicate to volunteering and often the default is to help on local community and charity fundraising projects.
Dawn Duggan, Head of People, Skills & Talent at GC Business Growth Hub, believes volunteering is a good way for her team to grow and involve in the community, said "Volunteering exposes the team to the challenges and needs of their communities. By actively engaging with local organisations and community members, leaders and colleagues can gain first-hand insights into societal issues, service gaps, and improvement areas."
Volunteering is also coherent with our 'Dare to' campaign, as it is a good way for you to step down and learn from others. This understanding can assist their organisation's decision-making, strategic planning, and corporate social responsibility initiatives.
On 12th April, a few colleagues from GC Business Growth Hub spent a day volunteering to make flowers for Victoria Baths Spring Festival. It was a successful event which created lots of camaraderie and plenty of uplift and cheer.
Ella Walker, Engagement Officer of Victoria Baths, mentioned: "Thanks to the corporate volunteers who joined us for our SpringFest 2023 prep session! Our annual events, like SpringFest, are really important fundraisers for us as a charity. Being able to put some extra time, skills and creativity into getting the building ready for these events makes a massive difference to how they look and feel, and helps us to grow our visitor numbers and engagement. From making decorations like giant flowers and hoovering yards of artificial grass, to support us with the website development and office support, the corporate volunteers who joined us this year made sure the event looked fantastic and sharing their involvement on our social media channels, and website helped us to spread the word for the event."
As a charity, we benefit from the time, skills and energy that volunteers bring, and support us to develop our networks for the future. Thanks to the Growth Company volunteers who joined us in Spring, you made a massive difference to our event, and we had a great time working with you. We hope you enjoyed the day and exploring Victoria Baths!
Participating in a day of charity work can be beneficial to both the charity and the individual.
Volunteering and giving back bring participants a sense of personal fulfilment and satisfaction. Clare Davis, Business Advisor of GC Business Growth Hub, was one of the volunteers on that day. She said, "“We had a fantastic day at Victoria Baths, not only was it fulfilling to help with such a great cause, it was also a great opportunity to deepen relationships within my team and build some new contacts”".
In summary, Volunteers' Week is an occasion for a leader to express gratitude, inspire others, celebrate with the team, showcase the organisation's impact, strengthen volunteer engagement, and collaborate with other stakeholders. It is a time to celebrate the power of volunteering and recognise the vital role volunteers play in creating positive change.