Volunteers’ Week

Volunteers have always been, and remain, at the very heart of Cruse Bereavement Support.

Every year, more than 3,000 volunteers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland donate their time, compassion and expertise to support bereaved people through some of the most difficult moments of their lives.

From answering calls on the Helpline, to providing one-to-one bereavement support, to helping raise vital funds for our charity, volunteers play an incredible role in enriching so many aspects of our organisation.

During Volunteers’ Week, we want to say thank you to every single volunteer who helps ensure that no one has to face grief alone.

For many bereaved people, speaking to a Cruse volunteer is the first time they feel truly heard and understood.

“I have just come off the phone with one of your volunteers. Everything came crashing in on me. And after crying, talking and saying how I’m feeling, I’ve let it all out and feel so much lighter. I’ve have great friends and family but it’s my grief, they have their own. Thank you so much for allowing me to get out all the buried emotions and feelings I’ve been carrying around. Today is now looking so much better thanks to you.”

“Cruse helped me. My bereavement volunteer Louise was brilliant. She helped me through the most difficult time in my life, very kind and compassionate.”

While family and friends often provide invaluable support, many people tell us that talking to someone with a deeper understanding of grief can make a profound difference.

“Whilst the practical and emotional support from friends and family was appreciated, I also really needed someone who had a clearer understanding of the impact of grief to talk to so I could process and understand. A friend recommended that I speak to Cruse. The lady I spoke to really helped me through the early months…Being able to talk through everything with someone who understood made me feel more ‘normal’ – it was like an anchor. The conversations with Cruse, really helped me start to process.”

“When I met with the Cruse volunteer there was no pressure, no judgment—just quiet understanding and compassion. I could say exactly what was in my heart, things I was too afraid to share with my wife or my other sons, who were also drowning in their own grief. Over the course of my sessions, I slowly learned how to process my pain, how to exist in a world without my son.”

For many, volunteers become a steady source of support during an incredibly uncertain time.

“Through my sessions with Cruse, I was able to unpack the feelings I had pushed down. It was difficult but after each session I felt a little lighter. It didn’t make my grief go away, I don’t think anything will, but it helped me to see that I could build a life around it. I will forever be grateful to my bereavement volunteer and Cruse, they changed my life.”

“My Bereavement Volunteer was an immense support and I couldn’t have got through the first year without her. She helped me to navigate everything.”

These experiences are echoed by thousands of people every year.

This Volunteers’ Week, we celebrate and thank all of our volunteers for the extraordinary impact they have on bereaved people and communities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Your kindness, dedication and empathy help people find hope, understanding and support when they need it most.

“I do remain, however, incredibly grateful for the immense value of the assistance which I have received from the two wonderful and selfless volunteers who, so kindly, gave of their time in order to guide me in coping with my own bereavement when it was so desperately needed at that particular time.

 I have the highest degree of respect for the diligence, kindness, & loving affectionate care which is shown to all people by your incredible volunteers and your entire organisation as a whole.”