New cabinet secretary for social justice, housing and local government Shona Robison thanks volunteers for their efforts

Volunteers have played an essential part in Scotland’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. We have been humbled as people delivered groceries, dropped off medicines and other essentials, or supported those who were isolated.

Volunteers’ Week offers us a chance to say a huge and heartfelt thank you to them all for doing so much to get Scotland through this difficult period.

There are the people who have been helping to deliver food parcels to the most vulnerable in their communities. Thousands of volunteers have been supporting the vaccination roll-out. There are the Kindness Callers who organise Zoom calls with people who are isolating to help with their mental health.

These are just some of the ways volunteers have been helping, as part of a fantastic community response from thousands of people across Scotland to the challenges of Covid-19. And of course, there are many long-term volunteers who have been supporting their communities for many years, many of whom will have had to adapt quickly to fulfilling their roles from home.  

These efforts reflect what we have always known: Scotland is a nation of caring people who want to help others.

As we enter the recovery and renewal phases of the pandemic, the need for volunteers and people to help and support each other will be critical for Scotland’s communities and places.

We want to enable people to volunteer and contribute on the issues that matter to them. Volunteering is crucial to our wider aims of creating a fairer, more inclusive Scotland with genuine equality of opportunity for everyone. If you’d like to try volunteering, you can find a list of vacancies near you at search.volunteerscotland.net, or access advice from your local Third Sector Interface or Volunteer Centre.

To everyone who has volunteered during this pandemic, I am so grateful to you – your help, support and kindness to others make such a big difference.