Last week marked National Volunteers’ Week 2025, an opportunity to celebrate the incredible work of volunteers.
A team from CVS Inverclyde joined forces with West College Scotland and Modern Apprentices from Inverclyde Council to volunteer at Parklea Branching Out in Port Glasgow on Tuesday 3 June as part of National Volunteers Week.
The volunteers were divided into morning and afternoon shifts, helping with maintenance around the outside of Parklea Community Hub. With direction from Christine and Calum from Parklea, the two sets of volunteer groups spent the day learning new horticulture skills, networking and having fun.
There was even some rivalry between the groups with a healthy sense of competition as the afternoon session tried to do more plant maintenance than the morning section. The morning group included Mark, Sam, Robbie, Robert and Cheyne, while the afternoon team was made up of Fern, Elaine, Alana, Ellie and Alanah.
Although, the weather was unpredictable, inside the polytunnels there was warmth as the volunteers got to grips with hundreds of potted plants. Parklea Community Options Co-ordinator, Calum Easton said:
“It was great to have volunteers from CVS, West College Scotland and Inverclyde Council supporting the work we do here at Parklea Branching Out.
“Volunteers are vital to our operations throughout the year, and it was great to be a part of this event for Volunteers’ Week.”
Both Robbie and Mark from Inverclyde Council enjoyed the opportunity to try out different activities and emphasised the great impact volunteering has on the community.
Tony Lockey, Programme Lead at CVS Inverclyde added: “Volunteers’ Week is a time to recognise, celebrate and say thank you to the people who make a difference through volunteering, whether it’s formal or informal, big or small, once a week or once a year.
“Thank you Parklea for hosting our team this week and for all the volunteers in Inverclyde for their dedication and resourcefulness.”
This event was part of a series of volunteering activities CVS Inverclyde has been involved in during Volunteer Week. Read more volunteering stories here: https://www.cvsinverclyde.org.uk/news/all-news/
Learn more about volunteering with Parklea Branching Out on https://www.parkleabranchingout.org.uk/
Find other local volunteer opportunities on https://volunteerinverclyde.com/volunteers/search.htm
There’s something for everyone!