Volunteers' Thank You Evening Photos!

On 7^th July, over 200 people gathered at Trent Vineyard to celebrate the work that volunteers are doing through churches and social justice projects across Nottingham City and the conurbation. The event was hosted by Transforming Notts Together (TNT), in conjunction with Trent Compassion and Justice ministries. Hundreds of volunteers were invited to an evening of desserts, music and networking to be honoured for the impact that their volunteering is having. Local church leaders, as well as political leads Lilian Greenwood MP and Caroline Henry, added their voice of thanks to all those who have continued to support others during the pandemic and beyond.

The attendees heard from leaders of projects such as Refugee Roots, Jericho Road Project and Prison and Ex-offender Ministry teams, about the impact their volunteering made to those facing hard times, as well as from individual volunteers about how they themselves had benefited from giving their time to others. And the time commitment was staggering. TNT, in conjunction with Cinnamon Network, recently conducted an audit of church and social action projects in Nottingham and, from those that responded, counted 1268 volunteers and 128,000 volunteer hours that had been given in the City and surrounding areas in the last year alone. The full results of the audit will be shared in the autumn with local faith and civic leads, with a view to how organisations can work together to support those most vulnerable in our communities.

So a huge thank you to those that attended and made it such a special night, and an even bigger thank you to those that are part of this volunteer army in our City and beyond! Special thanks to Laura, Bryony and the team at Trent for making the venue look so beautiful and doing much of the behind the scenes organising. Bless you!