Volunteers Week 2026 – Storyboard

The Passing of Time : A short video by Carla Thompson

A snippet of the many volunteers in Brighouse giving their time for their community.

CREDITS (groups on the film): Friends of Brighouse Station – Wellholme Park Jumps – Friends of Wellholme Park – Incredible Edible Brighouse – Park Row Centre – Focus4Hope – The Calder Conservation Group CIC -Malcolm Silkstone (Bailiff Bridge)

Calderdale & Kirklees Recovery College

Our volunteers are at the core of what we do at the Recovery College in Calderdale. They plan, deliver and support outstanding high-quality to empower people to improve their own wellbeing. Our courses are designed to help our learners to thrive, so that they can live life well. Our volunteers, who have a lived experience of mental health difficulties, share their stories to bring hope to people who are struggling, and to ensure that the Recovery College is the best it can be. I struggle to imagine a Recovery College without our volunteers, their commitment, hard work and openness have helped us to create a welcoming college, where people feel comfortable, valued and inspired. Our volunteers are an absolute credit to the college, and I would like to say a MASSIVE THANK YOU for the incredible support that they continue to provide for us-they are AMAZING.

A Volunteer's Story - Abdurab, St Augustine's Centre

During Volunteers’ Week, we want to celebrate one of our incredible centre volunteers whose journey reminds us of the power of kindness, resilience, and community. This story is about a centre member volunteers Abdurab.

After arriving in the UK from Afghanistan, he faced years of uncertainty while going through the asylum process. Despite the challenges, isolation, and many moments where he felt let down by the system, he chose not to give up. Instead, he chose to give back.

For the past few years, he has volunteered in our Tech Lab, helping others with patience, skill, and compassion. Recently, after a long and difficult journey, he was finally granted leave to remain — a moment of hope and justice that we are so proud to celebrate with him.

He once told us:

“When you are depressed, sitting home alone makes it worse. You overthink. You only see four walls around you.

Volunteering helped me.”

Through volunteering, he reconnected with the passion and skills he developed back in Afghanistan as a technician. But more importantly, he found purpose in helping people who were struggling just like he once did.

“At first, I thought people only worked for money. But when I came here, I realised money is not everything. In Afghanistan I paid to learn these skills — now I help people for free. At night, I think about the people I helped, and their thanks feels like a million pounds to me.”

He also shared how volunteering reminded him that everyone carries their own struggles:

“When I am here, I see many people with more problems than me. Every person has a different struggle. When I speak to people, I feel good.”

His story is a powerful reminder that volunteering is not only about helping others — it can also heal, connect, and inspire us. We are deeply grateful for everything he has given to our community, and we know his journey will inspire many others.

NSPCC Schools Service

Our small team of NSPCC Schools Service volunteers covering Calderdale and Bradford are simply amazing! Just this last year, they have helped deliver our Speak out. Stay safe. programme at so many schools across the district, reaching a total of 23,629 children with the programme’s important messages. Speak out Stay safe is a safeguarding programme that aims to equip a generation of children with the knowledge they need to stay safe from abuse and neglect; our volunteers are vital in helping us achieve this. We really need more volunteers to join us so that we are able to reach even more schools and children, so if you would like to join a great ‘team’ and find friendship, camaraderie and a superb support network please get in touch. Thanks so much for your input from NSPCC schools service . A few children have confided in their teachers as a result of the sessions, which is really important, and we will support them moving forward.” quote from a Senior Leader in a School.

BBQ (1)
Volunteers Summer Party 2026 invite
Volunteer Event Calderdale CK Recovery

If you don’t have a space to host your own celebration, you’re warmly invited to join us at the Culturedale Hub.

We’ll have tea, coffee, and cake ready for you and your volunteers. You’re welcome to book a slot just for your group, or join forces with another organisation for a simple but heartfelt shared celebration.

We’ll be at The Hub from 10am – 4pm on Wednesday, 3rd June and Thursday, 4th June.

Where: The Culturedale Hub, Unit 4, Northgate House, Halifax, HX1 1UR

Request a Slot Here

Your booking will be confirmed via email or telephone.

We’re really looking forward to celebrating volunteering across Calderdale with you.
If you have any questions, please get in touch by emailing info@cvac.org.uk

VAC + Membership

What's included?

You will receive a VAC Member welcome pack with useful information on getting the most out of your membership and a few extra treats!

Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.

When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.

They will be your main point of contact for your membership, helping to answer questions and signposting you to the right place within VAC and/or our partnerships.

We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members.  Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector.

The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.

To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.

The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.

The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.

A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. 

The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!

A perfect opportunity to support one another, find out about other local services and explore new collaborative opportunities and partnerships with fellow VAC members.

40% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.

25% Discount on Virtual Office – Perfect for start ups or smaller organisations, our Virtual Office service offers a postal address, pigeonhole and reception facilities.

25% Discount on ID Badge Printing – Competitively priced to accommodate for smaller orders, our in-house ID Badge service supports both design and printing.

Based on feedback and insight we gain from our members, our training and events offer will complement local infrastructure support training programmes.

All sessions are cost effective and VCSE sector driven.  As a VAC + Member, you will receive a considerable discount on all VAC Training and Events.

VAC Membership

What's included?

You will receive a VAC Member welcome pack with useful information on getting the most out of your membership and a few extra treats!

Every member of VAC will be invited to our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and has voting rights for resolutions and proposals either in person or by proxy.

When you sign up to be a VAC Member, you will be assigned a Go-To Contact from the VAC team.

They will be your main point of contact for your membership, helping to answer questions and signposting you to the right place within VAC and/or our partnerships.

We want the VAC membership offer to be responsive to the needs of our members.  Member check ins keep us up to date on your organisation’s news and developments but also on any challenges or support gaps that may be affecting the VCSE sector. 

The information we receive during our member check ins will highlight trends and challenges that we can then explore support and solutions for via our membership offer and partnerships with local providers and authorities.

To support VAC members to feel connected and informed, we have created a unique Member Area on the VAC Website.

The online dashboard will keep you and your colleagues up to date on the latest member opportunities, training and news.

The Member Area also has a forum function, allowing VAC Member organisations to interact and support each other.

A quarterly newsletter to keep our members up to date on not only VAC Membership updates and opportunities but also specifically created content on topics of interest to the local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. 

The Bimonthly Member Network is for VAC Members to connect with other VAC Members!

A perfect opportunity to support one another, find out about other local services and explore new collaborative opportunities and partnerships with fellow VAC members.

20% Discount on VAC Room Hire – We offer a range of flexible rooms for hire located in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Our rooms include a fully equipped, large training room with SMART board and flipchart facilities seating up to 25 theatre style, two smaller meeting rooms seating up to 12 and a small office with computer facilities suitable for one-to-one meetings or rent-a-desk.

Competitive rate on ID Badge Printing – Competitively priced to accommodate for smaller orders, our in-house ID Badge service supports both design and printing.

Based on feedback and insight we gain from our members, our training and events offer will complement local infrastructure support training programmes.

All sessions are cost effective and VCSE sector driven.