Volunteers: why do they do it - and why I'm so grateful that they do |
As National Volunteers’ Week comes to an end, I’ve been reflecting on what it means to be head of one of the biggest volunteer organisations in Scotland.
First, I’ll state the obvious. Volunteers are the beating heart of the Citizens Advice network. As a charity, we can only afford to employ so many people. So, without the help of those who generously give us their time, knowledge and energy, we wouldn’t have the scale of impact that we have.
But I’ve also been thinking not just about what our volunteers do for us, but what we should offer them, and whether we are getting that right. We recently surveyed them to find out.
There are over 1,700 CAB volunteers in Scotland across our 58 CABs. They vary enormously in background, age, experience and hours given. But........