Council celebrates local volunteers

The event on Thursday 8 June, also attended by the Mayor of Welwyn Hatfield, Cllr Pankit Shah, and Deputy Mayor Frank Marsh, saw nominated individuals from local voluntary organisations, plus the nominees for Young Volunteer and Outstanding Community Contribution from this year’s Youth Awards – enjoying a sumptuous afternoon tea at Mill Green Watermill and Museum.

It was a chance for the council to embody the theme of this year’s Volunteers’ Week - ‘Celebrate and Inspire’ – and say a big thank you to all volunteers who make such a difference in their communities in so many ways.  

The volunteers at the event ranged from charity shop workers to young people volunteering at air cadets or completing their duke of Edinburgh Awards. Other volunteers came from the CVS (Community Voluntary Service), sports clubs, Herts Welcomes Refugees, and Potential Kids.

Mollie Mardel, a winner of the Outstanding Community Contribution award at the 2023 Youth Awards, who attended the garden party, said: “The opportunities shared with me by the always-encouraging youth workers on the One YMCA team inspired me to volunteer my poetry for Welwyn Hatfield events and services. It was lovely to be recognised at the garden party at Mill Green as part of this. I enjoyed getting to know other volunteers in the area with similar interests and learning their stories. We were met with a warm reception, the weather was beautiful, and the atmosphere was incredibly welcoming full of people who really care about making a difference in our community, including both hosts and guests."

The Mayor, Cllr Shah, said:

“I’m delighted to be involved with such an event so early in my tenure as Mayor! It’s wonderful to hear the stories behind what the people here today do, and it serves as an inspiration to us all. I hope that this gives others who may be thinking about some kind of volunteering work the impetus to go for it, and I’m so pleased to be able to say, ‘thank you’ to at least some of the people that enrich our communities with their invaluable help and support.”

Cllr Max Holloway, Executive Member for Community and Leisure said: “Volunteers’ Week is a wonderful celebration of the excellent work our local volunteers do for Welwyn Hatfield.  I would like to add my thanks to all our volunteers for the positive contribution they make to the lives of so many people in our community.  I would also like to thank the Partnership Officers at WHBC for the work they do in promoting volunteering opportunities across the borough and, along with the team at Mill Green Museum, for organising such a fantastic garden party”.

To find more about volunteering in Welwyn Hatfield, search ‘volunteering’.