Meet two WAY volunteers making a difference in their communities

March 2024

Volunteers are at the heart of everything WAY Widowed and Young does to support our members. We currently have more than 170 volunteers and through their incredible efforts, the charity continues to thrive and members are welcomed and supported. Here are two stories about some of our inspiring volunteers, Ann and Jo, who have been helping to raise awareness of WAY in their communities…

Ann, a volunteer for WAY Widowed and Young in Warwickshire, was inspired to initiate a project for the local WAY community after visiting Draycote Water, a beauty spot with a memorial garden.

When she found out it was possible to buy memorial plaques for display in the garden, Ann decided to rally fellow WAY members for support. They quickly raised enough funds to order a plaque. Last month, the plaque was unveiled with the words that had been decided by the WAY Warwickshire group: “WAY Widowed and Young – In memory of those we will always love and lost too soon”.

Ann explained why this memorial was so important to her:

“Many young widows still have their partner’s ashes at home so have nowhere else to go to feel close, remember or reflect. We now have somewhere special that we can go to remember and reflect. A huge thank you to everyone that helped to make this happen.”

Ann hopes that people visiting the memorial garden will see the plaque and be interested in finding out more about WAY – helping other people to find the charity’s support.

WAY in Cornwall and Devon: Helping to raise awareness

Jo, a long-standing member of WAY Widowed and Young’s peer support network from Cornwall, has been ensuring that those in her local communities in the south-west of England know about WAY and how it supports those widowed young.

Last month, Jo and a fellow WAY member attended a community event at Newton Abbot Library in Devon to help raise awareness of WAY. More recently, Jo also took part in a local community event in Millbrook, Cornwall, continuing her mission to raise awareness and support for WAY.

Jo said:

“I am nine years on this journey and I feel it is so important to raise the awareness of WAY, because the peer to peer support you can access with people who just ‘get it’, and the long-term friendships that are formed from unimaginable circumstances are absolutely amazing.”

Thank you to Jo for helping those who need the charity, to find us.

If you’d like to find out more about volunteering for WAY, please drop our National Volunteer Manager Veronica a line at veronica.currie@widowedandyoung.org.uk

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