Celebrating 25 years of volunteering at THT.

Volunteers week - 1-7th June 2008

Volunteers and our history.

Volunteers have played an important and central role in our development over the past 25 years. THT was set up by a group of volunteers who came together to provide care and support to people who were living with HIV in the face of fear, ignorance, misinformation and prejudice.

As we've developed, we've been fortunate in that many thousands of people have been prepared to volunteer and give their time, talents and skills.

Who you are and what you do.

At the last count 750 of you were joining us, unpaid,  in our mission to improve the nations sexual health.

You might be Community support volunteers, Counsellors or Helpline volunteers helping people with HIV live independent lives.

You might volunteer in an office, reception, or testing clinic helping to safeguard people's sexual health.

Or it could be that you train other volunteers, raise funds, help campaign or give your time in one of a host of other roles.

How we want `you' to become `us'.

We aim to be made up of people from the communities which we are trying to help. Volunteers contribute an enormous range of experiences and skills to us, greatly increasing the scope of our work. You can also pioneer innovative ways of working that may not be possible for some of us.

We also value and encourage volunteers to participate in the development and decision making process of the charity.

You can find out about becoming a member of the charity here.

Our celebrations.

As part of Volunteers’ Week, we are celebrating 25 years of your contibution and promoting the amazing support that you have given to us and the people we help. Many of our volunteers were once clients themsleves and wanted to give something back because of the invaluable support that they received from other volunteers.

This year Terrence Higgins Trust offices across the country will be holding social events to celebrate and to thank volunteers for their contribution. The London Volunteer Service will be holding their annual summer barbecue at Lighthouse West London on Sunday 7th of September.

Recruiting volunteers.

Of course we are always looking to recruit more volunteers. HIV and STI diagnoses are continuing to rise - in order to respond to these increases we need more help.

We're committed to achieving a good volunteering experience for all of our volunteers. We believe in equal opportunities and welcome applications to volunteer from everyone. We particularly welcome applications from our service users and those who have benefited from our services. Where Criminal Disclosures are required we will review all cases on an individual basis and a criminal record will not necessarily be a bar to volunteering with us.

You can find out more about becoming a volunteer here.