The quality standard demonstrates the valuable experience volunteers have when supporting our work.

In recent years we have relied on the support of more than 1200 volunteers across the hospice’s projects, from working in shops and delivering food parcels to taking part in our popular Compassionate Neighbour scheme.

The award will be unveiled at the culmination of Volunteers’ Week (1-7 June) and will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel at 11am on Monday 7 June. A recorded version will also be uploaded to the YouTube channel following the event.

Throughout Volunteers’ Week, we have been celebrating our volunteers in a variety of ways, including a Volunteers’ Week ‘takeover’ at our shops across south-east London and stories of our volunteers being shared across social media.

Strategic Volunteer Lead at St Christopher’s Hospice, Rebecca Turner, said: “We are proud that St Christopher’s has achieved the Investing in Volunteers award for good practice in volunteer management. Volunteers are a vital part of our team and this award demonstrates that we recognise that volunteers are given the right support.

“I’d like to say a huge thank you to the staff and volunteers who assisted with the accreditation process, through being interviewed, completing a questionnaire or by participating in the Investing in Volunteers Task and Finish Group.”

The welfare of the volunteers is considered and you always have someone to talk to if you need advice

Stephen Rea

Stephen Rea, who has volunteered at St Christopher’s Hospice since 2010 and was interviewed by the awarding body, welcomed the accolade.

He said: “The welfare of the volunteers is considered and you always have someone to talk to if you need advice.”

The award was issued following interviews with both staff and volunteers across St Christopher’s. We were assessed against six quality areas and were found to excel in all aspects of working with our volunteers.