Mayor of Worcester

This week has provided a little more time for reflection regarding how I can continue to promote my theme of ‘Valuing Volunteers’.  Having listened to so many volunteers out there who do give up their time, generally with the idea of making the lives of others more bearable, it really does appear to be a two-way street.  While helping – be it for a charity, as school governor, a carer, or in whatever capacity – I keep being told that those who do so get a lot back, either through life experience or work skills.

I became aware of how important this facet of volunteering was when delivering awards at the University.  It was brought home to me that employers, while expecting potential employees to have the requisite qualifications, were also seeking young people who could be ambassadors for their companies.  They were looking for leadership and teamwork skills.  Those receiving awards could demonstrate how their volunteering work helped to equip them with these and other competencies.

This was again demonstrated later in the week, when I saw a number of volunteers outside the Guildhall raising money for the Headway charity.  They were selling cakes and keeping youngsters amused at a face painting event.  The amount they raised went towards buying materials to decorate various rooms at the Headway offices.

I was then able to see exactly what work they were doing at Headway and discovered that as well as painting and general indoor maintenance, one group had cleared a piece of ground that had been full of earth and rubbish to make an outside area available to clients at the charity.  The whole enterprise had taken a week and had been arranged by the National Citizen Service, which is open to 15- 17 year olds across England.  The programme builds skills for life – it’s one of the best routes I can recommend to help discover why volunteering is so worthwhile.

 

I think that this week has been a good indication of how Worcester puts on some excellent events.

First on the agenda was the opening of the Worcester Festival outside the Guildhall last Saturday.  We were joined by the Shirley Pipe Band which set off the hundreds of events and attractions that will take place between now and 28th August. A big thanks to Chris Jaeger MBE for organising this.

On Sunday I was privileged to open the Worcester Show at the award winning Gheluvelt Park.  A lovely day with the stalls set out across the park for all to enjoy.  And you certainly came out in droves – the biggest number of visitors ever to this fantastic event:  over 13,000!  From a dog show to the competitions for horticulture, cooking and crafts the entrants indicate just how much local people enjoy this Show. ensuring its continued support.

Then at the end of my week, I opened the Worcester Beer, Cider and Perry Festival at Pitchcroft.  Yet again, people were lining up to get into the huge marquee that houses this event.  I believe that for a few days Worcester will be home to the longest bar in England.  But it’s not just beer; the food outlets in place also make this a brilliant place to spend time relaxing this weekend.

Interspersed with this, I was a guest at the Worcester Lions youth camp evening held at New College.  The Lions had organised for a number of young people from all over the world as far away as South America, Australia and China to visit England and host their time in this country. Again I heard from these visitors just how much they enjoyed Worcester, and how impressed they were with our City.

And finally, continuing with my volunteering theme I visited the workplace of the Worcester Samaritans, whose members work round the clock taking calls and listening to the most harrowing of stories from some very desperate people.  There’s no doubt from their experiences and listening skills that they are able to provide a lot of practical advice to de-escalate some very serious situations.