Volunteer development and wellbeing

Volunteering has many benefits, from improving your wellbeing to developing new skills. Our volunteering experiences provide lots of opportunities for you to grow, develop and have fun. Whether you want to build your CV, gain confidence or get stuck into a new challenge, we have something for everyone!

• More than half of our volunteers (56%) report feeling more confident since volunteering with Cancer Research UK  

• 61% of our volunteers say they have developed new skills thanks to volunteering  

• More than half of our volunteers (56%) say their physical health and wellbeing has improved since volunteering with us, and more than half (57%) say their mental health has improved    

• 50% of our volunteers smile more since volunteering at Cancer Research UK 

12 – 18 May is Mental Health Awareness Week, a campaign designed to bring the UK together to focus on mental health and wellbeing. This year, the theme for the campaign is community. Communities can provide a range of wellbeing benefits, from creating strong connections with others to a sense of belonging and purpose.  

At Cancer Research UK, we know volunteering can be a great way to build connections, grow your confidence and boost your wellbeing. In fact, 74% of our volunteers say they feel better connected to people in their community as a result of volunteering with us, while more than half (56%) report feeling more confident. Below, you can hear from shop volunteer Paul, who shares how volunteering helped to transform his mental health.   

Our volunteers play a vital role in powering our progress, and we want to make sure we’re helping you to get the most out of your time with us. That’s why we’ve created this brand-new page, with plenty of resources to support your development and wellbeing and to help you thrive as a member of our volunteer community.  

Please do explore this page, make use of the resources available to you, and don’t forget that your volunteer manager is here to help if you have any questions or need any support as part of your volunteering.