VOLUNTEERS WEEK 2026

Volunteers’ Week is an annual UK-wide campaign held from the first Monday in June to celebrate and recognise the contributions of volunteers. The campaign highlights the diversity and unity of volunteer work across the UK. Volunteers’ Week fosters connections between national organisations and grassroots groups, celebrating the spirit of volunteering that enriches communities each year.

To recognise our Volunteers, we asked some of our Mentors to tell us their motivations for joining our Mentoring Programme and the benefits they’ve experienced since joining.  

Sarah Kynoch

I didn’t have much career direction when I was a teenager. My Mum wasn’t educated in the UK and left school without qualifications at 16, to become a seamstress. Nor did my three older siblings have helpful direction regarding education. None of us went to University, but we all found our careers subsequently and went on to study for degrees later in life.

And this is what prompted me to volunteer with young people who may need guidance and support to make good decisions, at a time when next steps can feel really uncertain.

I hope I can be a reassuring voice to these young people, offer advice based on my broad range of experiences and encourage them to articulate their thoughts and understandings, as they navigate their transitions from school.

I am enjoying the journey with my mentees. They have much to offer. I hope I will have made a positive difference to their outlooks during the programme.

Arjun Ghosh

I have worked with The Diana Award for 3 years now and have taken part in their 12-week mentoring programme at 3 different schools with 3 different people. I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience and am always happy seeing the children grow as a result of our mentoring.  

I feel the programme itself is varied in its approach and covers a lot of areas to help support students into the world of work and understanding key skills such as communication and leadership. The staff at The Diana Award are special and care deeply about giving back to the community. I have had the pleasure of working closely with Liam and Gina and enjoyed learning from them and seeing how they navigate through different year groups. The passion The Diana Award has for helping support children at risk of becoming NEET is amazing and it shows in the impact they have on the students.  

Overall, I am grateful to be part of something which gives back to the community and steers students towards positivity and becoming the best version of themselves. It’s always a great feeling to go back to a school and see students I have previously mentored and see how far they have come. It’s refreshing to know that I have been able to make an impact on them and inspire them in a way they hadn’t considered before The Diana Award mentoring programme.

Funmi Osilaja

Volunteering through Diana Award has been such a rewarding and enjoyable experience for me. It has been a real pleasure getting to know the young people and watching them grow in confidence over the weeks.

One of the most encouraging things has been seeing children who were initially very quiet begin to speak up, engage more, and come out of their shells. From week one, I have noticed such positive changes in many of the students, which has been incredibly lovely to witness.

The sessions have created a welcoming and supportive environment, and it has been great to see the students build relationships, participate more openly, and simply enjoy being part of the group. Being able to play even a small role in supporting and encouraging them has been very meaningful for me.

Overall, it has been a positive experience, and I am grateful for the opportunity to volunteer and be part of something that is making a genuine difference to young people.  

Chris Garwood

I started mentoring for Diana Awards after my company advertised the opportunity . I'm now on my 5th mentoring programme  and have enjoyed every minute .

I love seeing the pupils grow as the weeks go and get more confident , it's always sad when the 12 weeks come to an end.

It has also helped me come out my shell when talking to others and presenting.

Deepika N

I started volunteering as a mentor with The Diana Award Mentoring Program in 2025. I was told about this opportunity by a friend and decided to look into it. I really loved the twelve-week session plans structured around not purely talking to a room of young people, but interacting with mentees, sharing experiences and encouraging them to discover their unique strengths.

Ever since I began mentoring, I have seen a huge improvement in my confidence! Some of the ideas and knowledge from the young people really surprise me during debates, discussions and reflections. Not to mention the CV workshops and mock interviews are not only are fun, but really helped me nail my own! Interacting with other mentors, facilitators, and teachers during these sessions is just a wonderful experience to be a part of.

I would recommend that people start mentoring. We all have someone we turn to when we need guidance, and young people everywhere deserve the same. I believe knowledge only grows as it is shared, especially with youth. It is a fun, rewarding and you are trained and supported. I would encourage people to give it a try at least once, it really surprises you how much change you can see in them over the weeks. The mentoring program really brings out the best in both yourself and the mentees!

I would like to conclude by saying, on this Volunteer’s Week, Mentoring is not about pointing as many young people as you can to a single path of success and saying goodbye. No. To me, after seeing all the brilliant mentees develop these ideas, skills, and opportunities, it has changed my understanding of mentoring. A mentor is someone who sees a young person’s vision on a scale and weighs their own experiences against it to achieve a balance of knowledge between the two while believing in the young person’s ability to pave their own path of success and hopes to give them the confidence to take that first step.