Volunteering with WAY in 2024

January 2025

As we enter 2025, WAY has almost 200 formal 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 really are the backbone of everything WAY does.

WAY’s Volunteer Manager Veronica says:

“WAY was founded on volunteering. For the majority of the charity’s history to date, volunteers have been the driving force behind ensuring that support is available for those who lose their life partner before the age of 51. Most of WAY’s volunteering community are WAY members themselves. For me, 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.”

Events

In 2024, more than 1,000 events were posted on the members-only website events page – these were a mixture of online and in-person as well as volunteer and member-led events.

In-person ‘Events’ ranged from activities such as walks in the park, coffee catch-ups, meals out, pub nights, quiz nights, theatre trips and even weekends away.

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 2024, more than 400 members, family and friends came together at picnic locations around the country.

Diversity in WAY

WAY volunteers have also been involved in ensuring that WAY is an inclusive space for our very diverse community. Taking part in Working Groups for Cultural Diversity, the LGBTQIA+ community and for men, who are a minority group within WAY, volunteers have shared their experiences and supported others in a variety of ways.

WAY Member Rebecca, discuss the challenges of Navigating Cultural Differences during Black History Month.

WAY Trustee, Stuart, discusses the importance the Men's Diversity Group, during Men's Health Week.

WAY Ambassador, Maria, discusses her experiences transitioning during Transgender Awareness Week.

Creating Connections

For many WAY members, isolation is a profound challenge that comes with bereavement. WAY’s online platforms 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, 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, quizzes and yoga, as well as running informal member chats tailored to different types and stages of bereavement.

In 2024, WAY volunteers and members also 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.

Having logged into the WAY Christmas Day Zoom in 2023, WAY member Ben wanted to make sure that same opportunity was available for other WAY members facing their first Christmas alone:
“This year I wanted to make sure that space was available for others, especially those facing their first Christmas without their person by their side,” he said. “It was a great evening, with lots of tears and laughter, sharing stories of happier times, and maybe a few drinks as well.”
Online volunteer Sam added: “I feel so privileged to have spent Christmas in such good company. I would not hesitate to sign up again because I never appreciated until now the freedom of sharing a space with people who have so much unspoken yet understood experience at such an emotionally loaded time of year. There were tears, but there was as much (if not more) laughter and good humour – it was as far from gloomy as you can get! Thank you to everyone who shared their Christmas with me. I am truly grateful.”
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.