This week is national Volunteers’ Week, an annual celebration to recognise the contributions of volunteers across the UK. We are proud to be taking part and recognising the incredible work of our volunteers, who give their time to support Horton Housing. Our volunteers make a real difference, helping us deliver good quality housing and support services across Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale, and North Yorkshire. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without them.
Promoting volunteers and increasing the number of volunteers in the organisation continues to be a key priority in our business plan. We had 75 active volunteers in 2025/26, an increase from the 54 in 2024/25, which is great to see. We hope to grow our number of volunteers even more in the future.
We are committed to ensuring a safe, inclusive, and professional environment for our volunteers, and are proud to hold an Investing in Volunteers accreditation.
Buddhika’s Journey
To celebrate Volunteers’ Week, we have been shining a light on our volunteers, their stories, and the wonderful work they do. Buddhika is an inspiring example of resilience and giving back. She has been volunteering with us since 2023 in our ‘Owt for Nowt’ free charity shop – a service which helps the people we support create their own comfortable homes with free furniture, clothing, and bedding.
Buddhika, who is originally from Sri Lanka, came to the UK in 2023 with her young daughter. It was a challenging time for her as she tried to find her footing, “Coming to the UK was really challenging… I had no work. I was in a mentally not very stable situation at the time”.
Buddhika encountered Horton Housing on her third day in the UK, when she saw the ‘Nowt for Owt’ shop while walking around Bradford. At the shop, she was given some free donated goods to support her while she adapted to her new life. She started volunteering with us after two or three days because she wanted to give back:
“We didn’t have anything. Just a single pair of shoes and didn’t have any warm clothes. But then Kristina from the ‘Owt for Nowt’ shop allowed me to have some stuff even though I’m not a client. And I felt very grateful… I felt like I needed to give back. I’m that sort of a person who believes in giving good things back to the universe. So, after two or three days, I went back and I said, “Can I volunteer with you?”. So that’s how it started. And it kind of changed everything for me.”
Buddhika told us that volunteering gave her something to do while she adapted to a new life, and it altered her perspective. Watch her tell her story:
Volunteer Van Drivers: Tracy and Simon
Tracy is a Volunteer Van Driver for our ‘Owt for Nowt’ shop. She has been volunteering for 10 years. She joined us as a volunteer because she wanted to improve her mental health, meet people, get outside, and give back to Horton Housing. Tracy’s favourite thing about working with us is that volunteering has improved her mental health, and she credits our Volunteer Services Team for supporting her through challenging personal times: “it’s given me a goal to get up and go”.
Watch Tracy talk about her volunteering experience:
Simon is one of our ‘Owt for Nowt’ Van Drivers. He volunteers as a Van Driver’s Mate, and has been with us for 9 years. Simon and Tracy were both awarded gift hampers for their long service at our Volunteers Celebration event last December. At the event, he told us that volunteering with Horton Housing has helped him improve his confidence and his life skills:
“I’ve gained the skills to read and write a lot better, and more confidence in myself, by meeting other people. I’d recommend volunteering because it gets you out and you meet other people. I would recommend it if you’re someone who stays in with nothing to do”
The Power of Volunteering: A Managers Perspective
Gemma Mason, our Service Manager at Housing and Community Support 4 All (HACS 4 ALL), spoke to us about the positive impact of having a volunteer. In this clip, she talks about Mo’s role at HACS 4 All, and how her wealth of experience, new ideas, and empathy, has made a real difference to her colleagues and the people supported by HACS 4 All.
A big thank you to our volunteers for all you do!
If you’d like to learn more about volunteering at Horton Housing, as well as corporate volunteering opportunities with us, please visit the Volunteering page. Or contact us at volunteer.applications@hortonhousing.co.uk.