Volunteer Celebration & Thankyou Evening

Tuesday 8 September 2026 | 4pm | Yourspace Sutton

The Yourspace Volunteer Celebration Evening is an opportunity to bring our volunteer community together to celebrate everything they contribute to Yourspace, say a huge thank you, and share some of what we have learned about the difference being part of Yourspace can make.

We will also be sharing the findings from the Growing Belonging research study, conducted in partnership with the University of Exeter. The study has explored volunteers’ experiences of belonging, connection and wellbeing at Yourspace, helping us understand not only whether volunteering makes a difference, but how the people, place and activities at Yourspace help create a sense of belonging.

The research findings will be presented back to volunteers in an accessible and engaging way, giving everyone an opportunity to hear what we found, reflect on whether the findings resonate with their own experiences, and celebrate the contribution volunteers have made to the research.

What the evening will include

• Growing Belonging study results – a short, informal presentation from the University of Exeter research team sharing the key findings and what they tell us about belonging and wellbeing at Yourspace.
• Celebrating our volunteers – recognising the time, energy, skills and personality that volunteers bring to Yourspace and everything that has been achieved together.
• Dinner from The Green Nut – dinner is on us as a thank you to our volunteers.
• Mini cooking class – a free, fun cooking session with The Green Nut.
• Time together – plenty of opportunity to eat, chat, catch up and enjoy being together without a list of garden jobs to get through!

Why we’re holding it

The evening is both a celebration and an opportunity to close the loop on the Growing Belonging research. Volunteers have generously contributed their time, experiences and perspectives to the study, and it is important that the findings come back to the community they came from.

We hope the evening will help us recognise what makes Yourspace special, identify what helps people feel welcome and connected, and consider how we can use the research findings to make the volunteer experience even stronger in the future.

Please let us know if you can attend so we have numbers for catering.