The Volunteers’ Week team across the UK made great strides in attracting media attention in print, online and broadcast media.
Articles were featured in, amongst others, the Daily Mirror, the Independent, The Star and the Financial Times which helped to raise the profile of volunteering nationally and get people thinking about volunteering themselves. GMTV ran a series of features about volunteering during the week, and numerous radio stations also covered the story locally, showcasing the work of volunteers in the area. The support of our partners in sourcing case studies of volunteers who are willing to speak to the media about their experience was invaluable in this process, so a big thank you to everyone who helped with this.
We were really pleased to see that many groups across the UK got in touch with the media to promote volunteering activities, and also that such creative methods were used to secure this coverage. Official thanks to volunteers were published as letters in local newspapers, whilst many events were attended and covered by photographers from local media.. Organisations used the media to attract new volunteers, by generating coverage around their taster events, inviting people to try out a.new activity.
We were really pleased to see just how much more coverage was generated this year than in previous years. Not only does it generate interest in the causes behind volunteering but all of the benefits that volunteering can bring to so many people and places.
Some statistics in relation to Volunteers’ Week 2009:
- 985 press and internet articles appeared mentioning Volunteers’ Week. This coverage is estimated to be worth £507,493.
- The number of unique hits to this website increased by 50% in May 2009 compared with May 2008.
- Over 750 events were registered on the website. These took place during and after Volunteers’ Week.
