Celebrating Cancer Research UK’s remarkable volunteers

At Cancer Research UK, we’re grateful to benefit from the support of more than 25,000 incredible volunteers, who donate their time to help us beat cancer.

Our volunteers help to fund research that saves lives. Whether they’re cheering on participants at one of our Race for Life events, dressing a shop window in pre-loved vintage, or campaigning for change in Westminster – together, volunteers make our progress possible. Every bit of time they give helps us make a difference for people affected by cancer.

Impact of volunteers

Volunteers are the backbone of our charity and represent us in local communities right across the UK.

Volunteers are at the heart of our shop teams and support nearly 600 shops across the UK. Events volunteers power more than 400 events every year with their energy and passion, while fundraising groups and committees unite their local communities to raise vital funds and awareness.

By campaigning for change and sharing their stories, volunteers also play an important role in helping people in their communities to talk about cancer, live healthier lifestyles and go to their GP with any concerns. In a recent survey, 74% of our volunteers said they feel better connected to people in their community as a result of volunteering with us.

Our volunteers are also valuable advocates for our cause and encourage the public to support Cancer Research UK in a variety of ways. Collectively, they talk to more than two million different people every year, helping to raise awareness of our work and our mission to beat cancer. Over 90% of our volunteers believe they have influenced someone to support Cancer Research UK in the last year.

Cancer Research UK exists to beat cancer. So far, we’ve made incredible progress. In the last 50 years, we’ve helped to double cancer survival in the UK.

To make these advances possible, our entire organisation relies on our community of brilliant volunteers. Many of our volunteers have been with us for more than 20 years. Just two hours of their time each week adds up to two million hours invested in beating cancer.

We simply couldn’t achieve what we do without them.

Benefits of volunteering

Volunteering at Cancer Research UK means joining a movement of people passionate about beating cancer. It also means meeting new people, learning new skills, giving back to your local community, and having a lot of fun too.

More than half of our volunteers say they feel more confident and smile more since they started volunteering with us. More than three quarters (85%) of our volunteers told us they would recommend Cancer Research UK to friends and family as a good place to volunteer, and 88% say volunteering has allowed them to meet more people.

We couldn’t be more grateful for all they do.