Heysham woman's selfless work praised as part of week recognising volunteers

A Heysham woman is among the volunteers being celebrated by Lancashire Adult Learning during Volunteers’ Week 2021.
Karen Lee.Karen Lee.
Karen Lee.

Taking place until Monday June 7, Volunteers’ Week is a national initiative and is an opportunity to say thank you and shine a light on the contribution millions of people make across the UK through volunteering.

Volunteering has especially come into focus over the last 12 months with the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Across Lancashire, LAL is recognising some of the star volunteers that tutors have supported through LAL’s range of volunteering courses, enabling learners to help out in their communities.

Karen Lee, 59, from Heysham decided to enrol onto volunteering courses to be a more active member of the community.

Karen said: “I’m an early retiree and I decided to take up volunteering courses with Lancashire Adult Learning to keep busy. My husband has also recently taken on the chairmanship of the neighbourhood committee.

“Helping to improve the village and make a difference for the wider community was another motivation, and I have learned a wide range of new skills through the courses.

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“I have also done a befriending course with Lancashire Adult Learning and I have supported Friends for You in the Chorley area. I have taken the skills I learned on that course and applied them to support people in Heysham village who have been isolated during the pandemic.”

Lancashire Adult Learning’s current range of courses under its volunteering offer includes Befriending, Mentoring, Dementia Awareness, Building a Community Project, Equality and Diversity, Mental Health, Safeguarding and Volunteering into Employment.

Tom Gee, Head of Curriculum for Employability, Skills and Volunteering at Lancashire Adult Learning, said: “Each year, we take great pride in the work our volunteering stars undertake in their communities and we enjoy saying a big thank you to them.

“In 2021, that is no different, and we are prouder than ever to celebrate the efforts of volunteers across Lancashire from the last 12 months which has been a period of time like no other in living memory.

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“Here at Lancashire Adult Learning, we have a passion to increase the number of volunteers that there are across the Red Rose County.

“Volunteering is really rewarding, and through our network of community partners, it would be great to use Volunteers’ Week 2021 to kickstart the training and support of a new group of volunteers wherever you are in Lancashire.”

To view the range of volunteering courses offered by Lancashire Adult Learning, further information can be found on the website here or by calling 0333 003 1717.

Lancashire Adult Learning’s course offer supports adult learners across Lancashire, and these are largely free, flexible and available online.

They include courses to boost health and wellbeing, options to retrain, classes to improve digital skills, and family learning opportunities.

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