International Volunteer Day is held every year on 5th December. It was enacted by the United Nations General Assembly back in 1985 to recognise the invaluable work of volunteers worldwide.
For many organisations, IVD is an ideal occasion to recognise the work of their own volunteers through recognition ceremonies, certificate presentations, barbecues and parties or working events such as conferences or working bees.
The website, http://www.volunteeractioncounts.org/en/ contains over 1000 stories submitted by volunteers around the world in celebration of their work and the site is designed to raise awareness of the value of volunteering. This year, the focus for IVD is on sustainable development and peace.
On International Volunteer Day 2012, take a few seconds to reflect on a world without volunteers. It would be a very different place in my imagination. No school sports teams, no Loui's Van feeding people in need, no community gardens, no books or musical instruments bought for your local school from school association fundraising, no playgroups, no community transport taking our seniors to their appointments, no volunteer aid for people in developing countries, no clubs - even shows like the Uni Revue (all volunteers) wouldn't happen. And this is only a tiny sample of what we'd lose.
I have a friend, Linda, who lives in the United States, whose craft group volunteers by doing what they love to do - sewing and quilting. When I put out a call for volunteering stories on Facebook, she told me, "Several ladies here where I live and in surrounding areas donate our time (and sometimes material) and we make lap quilts for local hospitals, and for the Veterans hospital in Reno. We also donate quilts to the Veterans Guest House in Reno (they house not only veterans who travel for care, but also veterans family members. There are also ladies in my craft group who make pillow cases that are donated to a childrens cancer hospital."
Her story got me thinking about the amount of people around the world who spend their time doing things like Linda's group to make life a little more comfortable for people who are sick and their families. Imagine a world without that care. I hope I never have to experience that.
So on International Volunteer Day, take an extra few moments to say thank you to the people who are selflessly working to make the lives of others safer, more comfortable, more fun or just a bit easier.
And if that person is you, I'd like to say thank you for making my world a better place.
No comments:
Post a Comment