VOLUNTEERS are the life blood of Grove House and a celebration of their efforts was held recently at the day hospice in the grounds of St Albans City Hospital. Sainsbury s Local in Marshalswick treated guests to canap�s and Pimms and volunteer services ma

VOLUNTEERS are the life blood of Grove House and a celebration of their efforts was held recently at the day hospice in the grounds of St Albans City Hospital.

Sainsbury's Local in Marshalswick treated guests to canap�s and Pimms and volunteer services manager, Wendy Burns, explained: "This is our way of saying thank you to our wonderful volunteers.

"We have over 400 ladies and gentlemen of all ages who regularly give up their time to come here to help. Without them we could not continue to provide support services to local people with cancer and life-threatening illness."

During the evening chief executive Mark Lister gave a short speech thanking the volunteers and chairman David Dunbar presented long service awards to Ann McCrimmon and Verona Brown who have each been helping at Grove House for over a decade.

There are a wide range of voluntary roles at the hospice from receptionists to gardeners and counsellors to therapists. Currently the fund-raising team is keen to hear from anyone who could volunteer to help with the next major fund-raising event, the Herts10K Challenge, taking place in Harpenden on Sunday, October 11.

To find out more about volunteering for an event at Grove House contact Sannah on 01727 731002.