GROVE House, along with voluntary organisations across the country, is celebrating Volunteers’ Week by recognising the enormous contribution made by its loyal and dedicated helpers.

The St Albans day hospice is proud to be able to continue to deliver high quality services to local people living with cancer and life-threatening illness but it would be difficult to achieve without the many hours of voluntary work put on by over 450 volunteers.

Voluntary services manager, Wendy Burns, said: “We are very fortunate here at Grove House to have such a loyal and reliable team of people who give their time freely to help others. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our wonderful volunteers for the tremendous work they do; their contribution makes a real difference to the lives of local people living with cancer.”

Volunteers feature in so many aspects of work at the hospice; the beautiful gardens are tended by Sue Hobley and her team of volunteer gardeners, the cancer information office is staffed by a rota of volunteers and patients are greeted at reception with a warm smile from the volunteer receptionists.

Trained volunteers can undertake home visits to patients as well as helping in the day hospice and on the Cancer the Next Step course. Grove House shops could not continue to contribute more �80,000 annually to the running costs of the hospice without their stalwart teams of sorters and salespeople.

Major fundraising events, such as the Midnight Walk on Saturday, June 26, and the Herts 10K on Sunday, October 10, are key to helping the hospice raise its current running costs of �1.5 million. For these huge events to run smoothly, the fundraising department relies on the good will of hundreds of volunteers.

Events manager Kathryn Boal says, “Our volunteers are the backbone of our events, even a few hours can make a huge difference. We are currently looking for volunteers with a little time to spare to hand out leaflets on Saturday, June 12 and 19.”

If you are able to help or would like to find out more about volunteering at Grove House phone Sinead 01727 731002 or visit www.grove-house.org.uk