Celebrating Volunteers’ Week 2026: The Heartbeat of Govan Community Project Established in 1984, Volunteers’ Week is an annual UK-wide celebration recognising the invaluable contributions of volunteers. Running from Monday 1st to Sunday 7th June 2026, this year’s event continues its 40-plus-year legacy of uniting national organisations and grassroots groups to thank those who enrich our communities. At Govan Community Project (GCP), our volunteers don’t just help out, they make our projects possible.
How Our Volunteers Help
Our volunteers’ support and commitment to building a community founded on integration and hope is truly inspiring. Every single week, they step up to make a difference by:
- Supporting Families: Providing vital childcare so our Women’s Group members can unwind, connect, and fully participate in activities.
- Empowering the Next Generation: Guiding children at our Homework Club whose parents might struggle with the demands of Scottish schoolwork due to English being a second language.
- Nourishing the Community: Cooking for and feeding over 80 people each month at our vibrant Community Meals.
We couldn’t do what we do without the incredible volunteers who make it all possible.
What Our Volunteers Get From It
For our volunteers, joining GCP is a unique chance to connect deeply with our work, our projects, and our people. By stepping into our space, volunteers don’t just give their time, they gain:
- Invaluable Skills: Developing cross-cultural communication expertise by supporting individuals across diverse backgrounds and languages.
- Professional & Personal Growth: Gaining firsthand experience in community development, enhancing problem-solving abilities, and building lasting friendships.
- A More Inclusive Glasgow: Fostering local integration, understanding the lived experiences of New Scots, and playing a direct role in creating a welcoming community.
Stories from the Heart of GCP
Homework Club Volunteers
A Break from University Stress
For one local Psychology student, volunteering with our Homework Club began as a university placement but quickly became a deeply rewarding part of their week. Driven by a passion for equal education and a desire to give back to their own community, they found that volunteering provided a powerful boost to their own mental health, serving as a welcoming, grounding break from university stress. Through building consistent, heartwarming relationships with the children, and mastering everything from adaptive communication to the perfect ratio of Vimto juice, they gained a sense of purpose and belonging within our supportive and kind culture.
Samhar’s Full-Circle Journey
For Samhar, volunteering with the Homework Club is a personal, full-circle journey. After arriving in Glasgow from Sudan in 2016 with very little English, she first came to the club as a service user, receiving one-on-one support to build her writing confidence. Today, she is the one giving back, using her own lived experience to empathise with and motivate children facing the exact same language barriers she once did. Volunteering has boosted Samhar’s confidence, brought her immense happiness, and created a welcoming space where she feels completely at home and incredibly proud to help the next generation succeed.
Men’s Group
Countering Hostility with Kindness
One of our dedicated Men’s Group volunteers shared why they chose to step up:
“Driven by a desire to counter negative political rhetoric surrounding refugees and asylum seekers, I wanted to offer a friendly, welcoming face to those arriving in Scotland. Through volunteering, I’ve found a relaxed, pressure-free space to laugh and build friendships, which has had a massively positive impact on my own mental health and social confidence. The Men’s Group is a vital space where members can just hang out, talk, and play games. Proving that a little community inclusion goes a very long way.”
Volunteer Voices
“Volunteering with GCP is genuinely rewarding and I always leave feeling really positive after Men’s Group. It’s been an opportunity to meet great people, build meaningful connections, and feel like I’m contributing in a positive way to a community that needs kindness, support, and inclusion now more than ever.”
Women’s Group
Therapeutic Creativity & Mutual Learning
After moving to Glasgow and searching online for ways to build community, one of our brilliant volunteers found her perfect fit with the GCP Women’s Group. Driven by a deep passion for women’s wellbeing and using creativity as a therapeutic tool, she has stepped into a vital role facilitating sessions and leading activities.
She notes that walking into a room full of warm, encouraging women instantly boosts her own mental health, offering a joyful space where everyone, including herself, feels seen and valued. From learning self-defence and crocheting alongside the members to growing her own leadership, organisational, and cross-cultural communication skills, she views volunteering as her way of actively uniting a divided world through localised kindness.
Priscilla: Finding a Place to Belong
After a challenging period for her mental health following hostile political rulings against trans women, Priscilla found a lifeline through a Govan Community Project social media story. Seeing GCP’s explicit statement that trans people were safe, valued, and welcome in our spaces lifted her spirits and gave her the courage to apply as a volunteer for the Women’s Group.
Having previously used volunteering in Brazil to navigate a formal job market that excluded her despite her high education, Priscilla views volunteering as a lifelong part of her character and a vital way to maintain her mental stability and self-worth. Today, she brings incredible creativity to the group—leading activities from cross-stitch to making Carnival masks. For Priscilla, volunteering at GCP feels like traveling the world, leaving her feeling “light,” safe, respected, and deeply connected to a global sisterhood right here in Glasgow.
Community Meal Chefs
Hawa: 14 Years of Community Spirit
Hawa Dousa is one of GCP’s longest-standing community members, having first joined our women’s group when it launched in 2012. Over the years, Hawa accessed our ESOL classes and sent her five children to our homework club. In Autumn 2024, a friend encouraged her to step into a new role: volunteering as a chef for our Community Meals.
For Hawa, cooking alongside our Food Project Coordinator, Ella, and the kitchen team brings her immense joy and a massive boost to her mental health. She loves the excitement of collaborative cooking, sharing dishes from different cultures, and gaining group work experience. Her only suggestion for improvement? She wishes the community meals lasted even longer because they are just so fantastic!
Howells: From the Courtroom to the Kitchen Hub
After practicing as a lawyer for 26 years, one of our incredible community chefs Howells arrived in Scotland facing a difficult time of lost hope due to threats to their life back home. Their journey with GCP began in September 2025 when they were invited to a community meal from their hotel in Paisley. Instantly connecting with the team over a shared love for Nigerian food and fried plantain, they quickly stepped up to volunteer.
For Howells, volunteering is a way to give back and contribute to their new home. They credit the “awesome, rare beings” on the GCP staff for stabilising their mental health, bringing them joy through collaborative kitchen cleaning, and opening up a world of cross-cultural connection—from enjoying Hawa’s soup to tasting Saheed’s baba ganoush.
Ready to Make a Difference in Govan?
You don’t need any special experience to bring kindness, support, and inclusion to our community, just an open heart. Join our team of incredible volunteers and help us build a community of integration and hope.
