Every month, Refugees Welcome volunteers give more than 400 hours of their time. Over the course of the year, this number reaches approximately 5,000 hours. As we mark Refugee Week 2025 – which this year is all about celebrating Community As a Superpower – let’s take a moment to reflect on the incredible impact these volunteers have.

But to be honest — this isn’t about counting hours. It’s about deeper things- care and support. The kind you can’t measure.

Just imagine! Every volunteer minute is someone’s first English word, spoken with hope and determination. Someone's happy smile as they walk into a new cosy, furnished home after being deprived of their own. Someone’s trembling hand that calms down after the words "you are not alone".

Our volunteers are not just helpers. They are the beating heart of the Cheshire East community. They give a part of themselves — their time, their compassion, their patience — to ease someone else’s sorrow, even if only a little.

They don’t do it because they have to. They do it because being human is a choice. A choice to show kindness when it’s needed most. A choice to listen, to comfort, to integrate, to empower refugees. Just to stand beside those rebuilding their lives. Every day, these volunteers make that choice — with open hearts and quiet strength. They remind us all that kindness is powerful. That hope is possible. And that no one should ever have to start again, alone.

By Anastasiia Lutsenko

• For more on Refugees Welcome, see the attached leaflet or check out our

website: www.refugeeswelcome.co.uk

• Refugee Week runs from 16 – 22 June. To learn more about Refugee Week, see:

www.refugeeweek.org.uk