It's Volunteers' Week from 1-7 June and, though NCVO cancelled all official promotions (due to coronavirus), voluntary organisations of all sizes and purposes have said they will still mark the occasion and thank the selfless volunteer work that keeps them going.

A poll on our Facebook and Twitter accounts told us that many of you would mark Volunteers' Week, so we want to boost your volunteer impact stories on our social media channels next week. To show solidarity with many other VCSE organisations up and down the country, we're using the hashtag #CheersForVolunteers, but we're also using a local hashtag, #BristolVolunteers. 

To keep the momentum going all year round, which NCVO encourages, we thought we'd also do something a bit different - a downloadable Book of Celebration, which will contain the stories and photos you share.

This is a permanent way to capture the spirit of Volunteers' Week in and around Bristol, and to find out what other organisations are up to. We'll put it together during and after Volunteers' Week, and we can't wait to see what you share with us and the community.

What makes a great story about volunteering? It's up to you. Here are some examples:

• A quote someone who changed their life or career through volunteering for your charity or community group.
• Comments from your COVID-19 volunteers on why they wanted to volunteer with you, and what they get out of the experience. 
• Photos from your last big public event (we mean pre-coronavirus!) helped by volunteers.
• Statistics on the number of hours your volunteers have spent helping during the past year, and the value of that work. 

There are two ways you can share your organisation's stories with us, but either way, we need to receive them by Sunday 7 June 2020:

1. Email your photos and stories to polly@voscur.org
2. Tag or mention us in your social media posts on Facebook and Twitter. Don't forget to use the hashtags #CheersForVolunteers (which is being used nationally) and #BristolVolunteers.

Please make sure you have permission to share quotes and photos featuring your volunteers. We look forward to seeing your contributions, and here's to a great Volunteers' Week!