Volunteering is usually seen as a way to give back. But research shows that 77% of volunteers report that volunteering improves their mental health and wellbeing.*
We often get staff at Moorfields who want to volunteer with us, for exactly that reason.
“Many people ask me: ‘Kiki, how do you do this volunteering on top of having such a full-on job?’ But volunteering is something that comes easy to me.
I’ve been working at Moorfields since 2018 – now through Medirest – and I just really enjoy being part of the Moorfields family.
When you really want to do something, it’s not hard at all. If anything, volunteering gives me more energy.
I love having conversations with different people and putting a smile on someone’s face; whether that’s registering patients in A&E, serving customers in the Friends of Moorfields shop or whilst taking patients to and from their clinic.”
Friends of Moorfields has been shortlisted in the Healthcare and Medical Research category for our handholding project, which provides trained volunteers to support patients before, during and after eye procedures performed under local anaesthetic.
The Charity Awards is a highly regarded excellence recognition scheme and is this year celebrating its 25th anniversary. All 30 shortlisted charities this year have been judged by an independent panel of sector leaders as having demonstrated best practice in leadership and management, from which other organisations can learn.
Handholding volunteers have been active at Moorfields since 2019, beginning with a pilot supported by Helpforce at Moorfields City Road. Since then, the service has gone from strength to strength.
Handholders provide a real, measurable benefit to patients – we surveyed over 400 patients who had volunteer support, and 95% agreed or strongly agreed that the presence of a handholder helped them to feel less anxious. “The volunteer held my hand during my surgery and made me feel very relaxed and comfortable. My anxiety level went down a lot! Thank you for the support,” said one patient who filled in a survey after their procedure.
Consultants and theatre teams also notice the positive impact of handholding. “Having a reassuring person who can be with a patient during their theatre journey is better than any sedation I can give,” said an anaesthetist.
The success of the handholding service has led to it rolling out at more sites – at first only offered at Moorfields City Road, the service now provides over 200 hours of support a week, across nine Moorfields sites.
The 10 category winners, plus the recipients of the Overall Award for Excellence and the Daniel Phelan Award for Outstanding Achievement, will be announced at a black-tie dinner on Thursday 3 July, held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.
The evening will be hosted by BBC news presenter Asad Ahmad, who will be joined on the night by a host of celebrities, representatives of the shortlisted charities, as well as leaders from Britain’s best known and best loved charities.
Our chief executive, Angela Smith, said:
“We are delighted to be shortlisted for the Charity Awards 2025, in the Healthcare and Medical Research category. Our handholding volunteers make an amazing contribution, supporting patients and staff and helping ensure that everyone who comes to Moorfields, for whatever reason, has the best possible experience.
We’re very grateful to Helpforce, who funded the original pilot of this service and who have continued to support us with evaluations of our impact.
We’re looking forward to attending the award ceremony on 3 July. Whatever the outcome, I am incredibly proud of our volunteers, and of the staff team who work so hard to ensure they have the training and support they need to provide this valuable service.”
To learn more about the fantastic work our volunteers do, visit our Volunteer Stories page.
