Regional changes and how they might affect you as a volunteer

Last updated: Oct 2025

This update is for all our volunteers to let you know what changes are happening to how we work with you to provide our services. The changes will mainly affect our regional services and peer support groups but if you are a volunteer providing one to one contact such as befriending, this update also explains how we will continue to support you in the future.

What is changing?

We've reviewed our regional services structure as part of a long-term plan to ensure we continue delivering our mission effectively and sustainably, especially in light of rising costs.

While we are not in financial difficulty, our current model is not sustainable in the long term. These proposals allow us to:

• Maintain our strong financial position
• Invest in areas that grow our impact
• Support more people with macular disease in a way that works for them.

Key reasons for these changes:

• Feedback from some volunteers shows that the current group model can feel too formal or admin-heavy.
• It's becoming harder to recruit for traditional volunteer roles like group leader or treasurer.
• Managing group finances has become difficult for some volunteers due to bank closures, tighter policies, and a move to a cashless society.
• There's more interest in micro-volunteering - flexible roles with less ongoing responsibility.

These challenges show us that it's time to evolve the system to better reflect the reality volunteers face today.

We're proposing changes to our regional team. Whilst we have a reduced regional presence, under our proposals we will still have a significant team of 14 staff dedicated to supporting our volunteers across the UK.

This would include a dedicated volunteer support team to handle all initial queries, a person focused on helping with volunteer recruitment, someone to help with managing group finances, and a role focused on volunteer learning and communications.

Beyond this team, we will continue to have a wider services team supporting people with macular disease across the UK – including our helpline, our counselling service, and the team who lead our befriending and Skills for Seeing services.

How might this change your experience as a volunteer?

• There may be less face-to-face support or local visits than some of you are used to.
• Instead, support will come from a central, cohesive team dedicated to helping all volunteers in a consistent and streamlined way.
• This will ensure the same level of support across the UK, wherever you're based - clear, reliable, and easier to access.
• We're also proposing annual volunteer events in each nation to stay connected, share experiences, and celebrate your contributions.

October update: Regional structure changes

We’re now able to announce the new structure for the regional team. We listened carefully to feedback from staff, volunteers, and service users, particularly around supporting local groups, and reflected this in the final structure.

Local groups play a vital role in supporting people affected by macular disease. Under the new structure, a dedicated team will continue to provide support to volunteers and local groups.

Key changes:

• Community engagement team: Leads peer support strategy in each region/nation and works with health professionals and local organisations.

• Volunteer and group support team: Supports volunteers and local groups day-to-day, including recruitment, onboarding, training, and communications.

• Community development manager: Oversees group policies, develops future peer support approaches, and supports groups wanting to evolve.

We will no longer use the term 'friendship groups' for lighter-touch peer support; future group models will be co-developed with volunteers.

Regional organisation chart

Please see the organisation chart below, we have also included this as a Microsoft Powerpoint slide for download below if you prefer.

Implementation:

The new structure will be implemented in the coming weeks, including appointments to new roles. The team will be smaller, which unfortunately means some colleagues will be leaving. We appreciate your understanding during this transition.

Feedback and support:

If you have questions or concerns, email feedback@macularsociety.org. We will also hold two optional volunteer calls to discuss the changes:

• Tuesday 25 November, 10-11am
• Wednesday 26 November, 4-5pm

These sessions are optional, and we will send registration details to volunteers closer to the time.

We will also keep the new structure and new ways of working under review, to ensure it is working as expected, and make any necessary changes.

We remain committed to excellent peer support and supporting local groups across the UK. Thank you for your dedication to helping people affected by macular disease.