The Blue Cross celebrates its volunteers

The Blue Cross will be joining in the celebration of volunteers next week.

Volunteers’ week is held every year to mark the fantastic contribution that millions of volunteers make in the UK.

From Tuesday 1 June until Monday 7 June lots of organisations will be marking the event in different ways.

The Blue Cross has more than 1,500 volunteers and in 2009 they gave us in the region of 150,000 hours of their time.

Our volunteers help us in a huge number of different ways – in our adoption and equine centres, hospitals, charity shops and at events.

They carry out lots of different roles including dog walking, kennel cleaning, driving, gardening, administrative support and short term pet fostering. 

Volunteer development manager Karen Allsop says: “Volunteers support The Blue Cross in so many ways and we really couldn’t deliver so much for Britain’s pets without them.”

Karen Pettet has been volunteering at our animal hospital in Victoria, London, for around five years.

She says: “I have always had a real love of animals and found volunteering a great way to get involved in pet healthcare, help out and start a new career.

“I help foster young kittens that need hand rearing, which is a wonderful opportunity to make a real difference to an animal’s life.

“The Blue Cross is such a worthwhile charity and I feel honoured to be a part of it.”

To mark the special week, some of our adoption and equine centres are holding volunteer events, including parties, race nights and talks.

Find out more about volunteering for The Blue Cross here. Find our more about Volunteers Week here.