From the beginning, Cherry Lodge Cancer Care has been a keen supporter of national Volunteers’ Week, an annual celebration of the contribution of millions of volunteers across the UK. Trustees and staff at Cherry Lodge join together each year to thank all our great volunteers for everything they do for us all the year round.
National Volunteers’ Week is traditionally designated as the first week of June – from 2nd to 8th June in 2025. However, this year, Cherry Lodge brought the timing forward to hold a big thank you party on Wednesday 21st May. The reason for the change of date was a sad one – CL Home Visiting & Volunteer Coordinator, Yvonne Shield, is leaving the staff of Cherry Lodge at the end of May after 14 years of committed service, to go to another job. Yvonne took great pleasure in putting on a final party for Cherry Lodge, to thank all her volunteers for the great work they do. The party was also an opportunity for the trustees, staff and volunteers to thank Yvonne for all she has done for Cherry Lodge and wish her all the best for the future. She will be greatly missed by many, for her cheerful smile, friendly personality and deep understanding of the needs of others.
Towards the end of the party, a warm tribute to Yvonne was given by CL Founder, Margaret (who, as she feared, needed a few more words than she had been allocated to sum up Yvonne’s many qualities). CL Co-chair Sarah also expressed words of thanks and presented Yvonne with a leaving gift. The last words went to Yvonne, who told us how much she has loved working at Cherry Lodge and thanked our many volunteers for all the work they do.
