Volunteers’ Week is an annual celebration of the contribution millions of people across the UK make through volunteering in their communities. It is run by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and takes place during the first week of June every year. The campaign highlights the diversity and unity of volunteer work, which is aptly reflected by the volunteers at BHT Sussex.
45 BHT Sussex volunteers donated 2271 hours of their time in the year 2025/2026 demonstrating how essential volunteers are to the delivery and development of many of our projects.
Two of our projects that benefit greatly through the help of volunteers are Pathfinder and First Base Day Centre. Pathfinder is a mental health service which offers one on one support sessions as well as groups and activities to aid mental wellness in West Sussex. Pathfinder staff are aided by volunteers who provide direct support to individuals, assist with fundraising events, complete administrative tasks and create an impact far beyond what paid staff alone could achieve.
Daniel Lewis, Deputy Manager of Pathfinder had this to say about the volunteers in his service:
Our Peer Mentors are showing time and time again how much of a difference they can make to people in the community. People have shared how nice it feels to be able to talk to someone who just gets it and can understand what it feels like to be in their position.”
First Base, our day centre supporting people experiencing homelessness across Brighton and Hove, is another service that benefits from the contributions of volunteers. Throughout the past year, we have had a recruitment drive to increase the number of volunteers at First Base to 7. As such, there are now many different roles fulfilled by volunteers.
Some volunteers support the running of our rough sleeper sessions by assisting clients with laundry, providing toiletries, helping clients find suitable clothing and access support. We have also been assisted to sort through our kind donations from the public to maintain an orderly and easy to access clothes storage area.
Once a week, volunteer chefs take part in a cookery group where a meal is cooked to provide to clients the following day.
There are celebration events taking place across BHT Sussex this week, including a celebration hosted by the Mayor of Burgess Hill, Stewart Condie.
Thank you to all our volunteers past and present who have contributed to BHT Sussex projects and services!
