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To mark Volunteers’ Week, we meet the local people giving their time and effort to Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust – and making a real difference HELPING HANDS
W hen Sally Laight completed her cancer treatment – a more than four-year journey which involved multiple surgeries, chemotherapy and emergency care for septic shock – she swiftly signed up as a volunteer for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT). Having been treated at Addenbrooke’s and by London specialists, she says: “Don’t let anybody tell me anything bad about the NHS: they’ve saved my life 20 times over and they really care. They treat the body, they treat the soul, they treat the person. With my personal experience, how could I not want to give something back?” As one of ACT’s most prolific volunteers, who’s given more than 50 hours of her time since signing up in April 2025, Sally, who lives in Cambridge, speaks to people waiting in Oncology, gives talks to community groups and supports fundraisers by taking part in events such as the Cambridge Half Marathon. “What is surprising is how it lifts you,” she adds. “You think you’re doing it for others, but, my lord, it helps you so much as well.” The official hospital charity for Addenbrooke’s, ACT funds cutting-edge equipment, specialist staff, extra comforts and pioneering research that helps change and save lives, above and beyond what the NHS can provide. Just 18 months ago, the
You think you are doing it for others but, my lord, it helps you so much as well trust had seven volunteers; today, Sally is among a fast-growing team of 31. With opportunities available to anyone over the age of 18, from fundraising and awareness raising to hands-on support at events and hospital hubs, volunteer programme lead Alex Innes notes: “In many ways, our volunteers help celebrate why Addenbrooke’s is such an important and valued hospital. They recognise the impact hospital staff have on our lives and those of our loved ones, and they want to show their support in a tangible way.” For Cambridge’s Bansri Ramaiya, who fits volunteering around a job and being a mum to her teenage son, it’s a chance to continue her mum Usha’s legacy: “She always believed that while we may not be able to solve the world’s problems, we can help one person.” As well as fundraising challenges, including a mile a day in May for ACT’s Walk to Remember initiative, Bansri participates in community outreach.
Gamlingay student Vicky Boyne, who’s about to graduate in psychology, connected with ACT through her careers adviser at Anglia Ruskin University. She says: “Part of volunteering in the hospital hubs was to build up my CV – but I also wanted to do something that made a difference; to see people smile.” To mark Volunteers’ Week, which runs from 1 to 7 June, Cambridge’s 106-year- old bakery, Fitzbillies, is giving all ACT’s volunteers a free Chelsea bun. Owners Alison Wright and Tim Hayward say: “We are so lucky to have a world-class hospital like Addenbrooke’s in our area – and ACT and its volunteers play an essential role in funding things that make it even better.”
Could you be an ACT volunteer? Find out more and get in touch at act4addenbrookes. org.uk/volunteer
WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER From left to right, Tim Hayward of Fitzbillies, ACT volunteer Sally Laight and volunteer programme lead Alex Innes
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