The trustees and staff of RCVDA have reluctantly taken the decision to cancel this year’s Volunteer Award Ceremony. This is an annual event which acknowledges the invaluable contribution volunteers make to the borough of Redcar & Cleveland. The event takes place during National Volunteer Week 1st – 7th June and it was agreed that it would be irresponsible to hold a large event given the uncertainty of restrictions that are in place due to COVID-19.
We feel particularly frustrated as we recognise that during the last year, we have seen a significant impact made by individuals and groups to their community. This is a key area which our awards ceremony highlights.
Carole Marshall, Volunteer Support Officer states “It is with great sadness that we have had to cancel this year’s event, many volunteers have shown their generosity and sense of community spirit from all walks of life and stepped forward to help others. However, it is paramount we follow the guidelines and ensure the health and safety of everyone. The past 12 months have proven to be very challenging for our organisations including an increase in service demand, a reduction in volunteers who themselves had to isolate, or indeed having to cease delivery of services and therefore loss of volunteer opportunities and funding.”
RCVDA continue to offer support to all organisations and Carole is happy to help promote your volunteering opportunities as we safely start coming out of lockdown. Staff and trustees of RCVDA would like to thank each and every one of you for supporting our community during this challenging time and look forward to celebrating with you all next year!