This week (1st to 7th June 2022) is Volunteers’ Week – a time to celebrate, thank and recognise the amazing contributions that our volunteer leaders make every week.

The Boys’ Brigade, to put it simply, would not exist without our 10,000+ leaders, and we would like to thank each of them for all that they do.

The experiences of the last couple of years have highlighted some of their efforts, through reopening local groups face-to-face, fundraising for Ukraine, sharing valuable life skills and providing opportunities for children and young people to experience “life to the full” (John 10:10).

The theme of this year’s Volunteers’ Week is “Community”, so we asked some of the members of our Leader Development Community – which is responsible for the delivery of all adult training within the Brigade – why they volunteer:

Stephen, who leads one of our groups in London, said: “I volunteer within the BB because I have memories from when I was involved as a young person and want to be able to give the same opportunities and memories to young people today. I also find it really rewarding when I see members develop and grow into active and positive citizens.”

Martin, a group leader in Fraserburgh, said: “I like to think that I can help make a difference to the lives of our children and young people by helping them to learn, grow and discover through the delivery of our programme and see them develop as confident young adults.”

Scott, a leader in Manchester, said: “I volunteer so that I can continue to provide what I have received as a young person to the next generation of young people. I also hope to provide them with the life skills and experiences that I have been lucky to gain.”

Robert, who leads a group in Ballynahinch, said: “I enjoy volunteering because of the real and positive difference you can make in young lives through being able to share the Gospel with them and offering a quality and varied programme.”

Throughout 2022 we have been celebrating our leaders by sharing some of their stories on our website each month. If you would like to nominate someone whose story you think we could share in a future item, please email us at comms@boys-brigade.org.uk