Volunteering for WAY: What volunteers achieved in 2025
January 2026
Entering a new year is always a time for reflection, and it’s so powerful to reflect on the impact of WAY volunteers.
WAY continues to have a UK wide community of over 180 volunteers who have stepped forward to help support the charity and our members in a variety of different ways; from welcoming new members to local areas, to hosting events online or in-person; from proof-reading WAY’s publications to supporting fundraising endeavours; from being a subgroup administrator to ensuring good governance of the charity as a Trustee, volunteers have always been and continue to be the backbone of everything WAY does.
WAY’s Volunteer Manager Veronica says:
“WAY was founded on volunteering. Volunteers have been the driving force behind ensuring that the charity’s mission to support those who lose their life partner before the age of 51 is delivered. WAY’s volunteering community is made up of WAY members and it is so inspiring to work alongside people who are juggling their own life challenges and commitments and yet also choose to spend time helping others – WAY’s volunteers truly make a positive difference to the bereavement journeys of other young widowed people up and down the UK.”
Community and connection
For many WAY members, isolation is a profound challenge that comes with bereavement. Connecting with others online can help to alleviate this for members and volunteers, offering safe and supportive spaces to connect.
- Members hub: WAY’s member only website has a wide variety of subgroups tailored to different interests and locations. Members can join as many groups as they like and connect online with other members who understand what they are going through. They can also set up and sign up for events through the Members hub.
- Facebook: WAY also has closed Facebook groups for WAY members, mirroring the subgroups on the Members hub. In order to keep members as safe as possible on this third-party platform, a community of WAY volunteers and members administer and moderate Facebook subgroups to make sure that they are member-only zones and that everybody is behaving respectfully and following WAY’s code of conduct.
- Zoom: WAY volunteers also host regular Zoom calls for members – including activities like bingo, book club, quizzes and yoga, as well as running informal member chats tailored to different types and stages of bereavement.
In addition to all the Zooms hosted by volunteers throughout the year, WAY volunteers once again hosted two Christmas Day Zoom sessions in recognition of how difficult the festive season can be for anyone who’s been widowed at a young age.
Sam explains why she helped to host these Zooms again this year:
“Christmas felt a very natural fit for a Zoom call. I was lucky enough to host two last year with my fabulous co-hosts. I thought that a safe, welcoming space where people could dip in and out would help give support on what can be such a tricky, emotional day. We hosted one call in the early afternoon and one in the evening and I can honestly say they were lovely. Thank you to everyone who shared their Christmas with me. I am truly grateful.”
WAY in-Person events
Members tell WAY that they really value the opportunities to meet other members in person and in response to this, the charity, its volunteers and its members created more than 1,000 in-person and online events on the members-only website events page – the vast majority of these were in-person events around the UK and most of these were led by WAY’s volunteering community.
In-person ‘Events’ ranged from activities such as walks in the park, coffee catch-ups, meals out, pub nights, quiz nights, day discos and even enjoying the outdoors through regular hiking opportunities and even weekends away such as the Glasgow weekend organised by Scottish Trustee, Gary.
One event that takes place across the UK every year, thanks to volunteers, is WAY’s Big Picnic weekend, which is a chance for WAY members to meet up with other young widowed people and friends of WAY – in 2025, more than 550 members, family and friends came together at picnic locations around the country.
A huge thank you to all WAY members – past, present and future – who step forward and say ‘I’m here!’ – offering others support as they have been supported themselves. WAY is all about peer-to-peer support – and being a volunteer for WAY really is the ultimate in peer support.
Your donations are always welcome.
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