Cardiff’s local hospice, City Hospice, united over 100 volunteers at this year’s Sparkle Walk, making it the largest volunteer team in the event’s history.
The annual 10km night-time walk returned to north Cardiff on 19 September as a way to remember loved ones and raise vital funds for the charity. Official City Hospice volunteers including friends, families, and corporate teams played a crucial role by cheering and guiding participants, and supporting behind the scenes, helping to create a truly memorable night.
City Hospice relies heavily on the dedication of its volunteers throughout the year. To recognise their invaluable contribution, they hosted a special ‘Chari-tea’ party at Cornerstone on 31 August, welcoming more than 130 volunteers.
The event was an opportunity to reconnect, welcome new volunteers and honour the impact they make. Guests enjoyed food from Spiro’s Fine Dining & Events, live music from Cube Jazz, and gifts and welcome drinks sponsored by Zurich Community Trust, while a heartfelt poem from the Volunteering Team celebrated the volunteers’ passion and generosity.
The charity’s volunteer programme was formally recognised last year when City Hospice was awarded the prestigious Investing in Volunteers award, the UK quality standard for good practice in volunteer management. The quality mark recognises how the charity values its volunteers and its commitment to volunteering within the organisation.
To achieve the award, City Hospice was assessed against six quality areas including its vision for volunteering, planning for volunteers, volunteer inclusion, recruiting and welcoming volunteers, supporting volunteers, and valuing and developing volunteers.
Samantha Davies, Volunteer Development Manager at City Hospice, said: “The Sparkle Walk is a fantastic example of how our volunteers’ energy and dedication can help create magical moments during difficult times. We were overjoyed to have so many volunteers, a record number for one of our events.
“Volunteering is a great way to meet new people, learn new skills or make the most of the ones you already have, while making a real difference in your community. We truly recognise and cherish the extraordinary efforts of our volunteer team whose hard work and dedication save the charity over £1m each year.”
City Hospice is always looking for volunteers to help in its retail stores and support with fundraising activities. To find out how you can get involved, contact volunteer@cityhospice.org.uk.
