15.3 million hours a year: Wales stops to applaud the volunteers who hold it together

At the Welsh Charity Awards in Cardiff, the applause was for people who usually work unnoticed. Annie Hutchings, named Volunteer of the Year, founded Tots Early Years Community in Monmouthshire — an inclusive place for young children and families — after her own daughter Annabel was diagnosed with an ultra-rare genetic condition before her first birthday. Swansea student Bowen Cole took Young Volunteer of the Year for hundreds of hours of youth advocacy and cancer-awareness work after his mother's diagnosis. Cancer Research Wales was Organisation of the Year, having raised £2.86 million (about $3.9 million) across 20 projects — its largest research investment in 60 years. Behind the winners stands a remarkable number: 212,200 regular volunteers in Wales give 15.3 million hours every year.

Mechanism: community action