Volunteers and households braved downpour to participate in the Big Help Out on the last day of the Coronation events.
In Harrogate, North Yorkshire, they weren’t going to let a little thing like the Great British weather condition stop them; safeguarding under golf umbrellas, hats and dripping gazebos to get the word out about the work they do and the brand-new king’s ‘festival of volunteering’.
“We want to celebrate that sense of ‘spirited volunteering’ – because that’s what it is,” says Pat Shore, President of the Harrogate and District Branch of Soroptimist International.
For her, today was an opportunity to commemorate and raise awareness of the advantages of being a volunteer. Speaking at a stall in the city’s cultured, Valley Gardens, the 71-year-old retired nurse supervisor included: “We are part of an international network of women and we volunteer to provide help here, in our region. I’ve been part of the organisation for 30 years. We all have life skills we can share – and we all enjoy the experience.
“This weekend has been about looking forward – and we’re doing that today, highlighting the world we already do and hopefully inspiring the next generation too.”
A couple of metres away, Karen Weaver, 61, who deals with Harrogate and District Community Action, a group that promotes exercise and supports regional charities, explained: “That feeling of community has been there all weekend.
“The king and queen do a lot to support volunteers and charities, including through the Prince’s Trust and that sense of being able to help others extends to everyone.
“Community has never been more important and this is a great showcase, a way to shine a spotlight on volunteering – what we do and how it can benefit everyone.”
That sense of optimism was seen in the existence of younger volunteers too.
While young children and school child bopped to a tiny disco – led by a group in superhero outfits – the North Yorkshire army cadets were establishing their stall, worn tiredness and embellishing their confront with union jack paint.
