We’re Proud to Announce: Investing in Volunteers Success!
We’re delighted to share that Horton Housing has once again been awarded the Investing in Volunteers accreditation-a nationally recognised quality standard that celebrates excellence in volunteer management and support.
This accreditation is valid for the next three years and marks our second successful application, reflecting our ongoing commitment to creating meaningful, well-supported volunteering experiences.
This achievement demonstrates the dedication of our staff and volunteers, who generously contributed their time, energy, and insights throughout the assessment process. Thank you to everyone involved — your hard work made this possible.
Volunteers are at the heart of Horton Housing. Their contributions enrich our services and strengthen our communities. Receiving this recognition reaffirms the value of their role and our commitment to nurturing a positive and inclusive volunteering culture.
Looking ahead, promoting volunteering remains a key priority for 2025. We’re excited to build on this momentum by expanding opportunities, celebrating volunteer stories, and continuing to improve how we support those who give their time to make a difference.
Quotes from volunteers in the assessor’s report:
“What I want is experience, this is a new sector for me and it’s like a new beginning, volunteering has helped me massively. It gives me structure and I’m looking for employment with Horton, it’s very encouraging.”
“Volunteering has really helped with my mental health, Horton really look after you.”
“Volunteering has helped with my life experience, I meet all different kinds of people, it’s changed me a lot, for the better.”
“My manager is very, very intelligent, with volunteering I don’t feel like a volunteer, I have learnt so much, the support from all colleagues has been perfect. They keep pushing me to learn more, I like to support people, and I like to impact people’s lives. This is what I’m doing through volunteering.”
Horton achieves Volunteering Quality Award extension
We are pleased to announce that we have successfully achieved an extension of The People Can’s Volunteer Quality Award for another year.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to us achieving this award.
The People Can Volunteering Quality Standard is a recognised award in Bradford for volunteer-involving organisations. It acknowledges good practice in volunteer management and is awarded to organisations that demonstrate their volunteering programmes meet specific criteria. More information about the People Can Volunteering Standard can be found on their website.
Volunteers’ Week 2025 at Horton
Published: 27/06/2025
For Volunteers’ Week in June, we gave all our volunteers a thank you card, a personalised mug, a key ring and some chocolates.
To celebrate all their incredible work, our volunteers were treated with a special trip to Clapham in the Yorkshire Dales.
When we arrived in Clapham, we were guided around a nature trail, where we could admire the interesting sculptures and the redwood trees, and spot rabbits jumping through the fields. We found a clearing between the trees, where we learnt how to light a fire with flint and steel, cotton wool, and Vaseline, and we used our new skills to start a warm and smokey campfire. We boiled water over the fire to make plenty of cups of tea, coffee, and mochas, before tucking into our packed lunches. One of our guides, Rosie, taught us how to whittle sticks to make shapes, and we gave it a go, making wands, a cricket bat, and mushrooms, before moving on to a natural lip balm and epsom salt workshop. We were able to create our own lip balms using natural ingredients and added essential oils for fragrance, and mixed bags of epsom salt with dried flowers and herbs to enjoy in a relaxing bath once we got home from our day out in the woods.
Everyone enjoyed their day out, which we finished by toasting marshmallows, fruit, and corn on the cobs over the fire. It was refreshing to spend time in nature, and we all came away with new skills and our own homemade craft projects to take home.
