‘V & V’
The Year of the Volunteer has provided a vital link in presenting the ethos of CRI at the Annual Meeting in October and at the volunteer celebration at Arundel Castle in November (pictured).
Cut CRI down the middle and you will find running through it not ‘R&R;’ but a strong current of ‘V&V;’.
Our ethos is all about striving to be the best at what we do and about sharing the learning; it is about ‘volunteering and vocation’.
The dictionary definition of volunteering is: ‘To offer for an undertaking by choice and without obligation.’ It strikes me that those who provide skills ‘by choice and without obligation’, as well as those of us who draw an income from CRI, have a markedly similar approach.
Like so many of us, I discovered my vocation through volunteering. It would be interesting to see how many people who once volunteered for CRI now work for the organisation. I would guess that the number is high, and that would explain why the CRI ethos is so strong.
I want to thank our volunteers for choosing CRI to volunteer with. We know the benefits you bring to service users, and the added value you give to our services. We also know that the benefits you bring to CRI as an organisation are equally valuable. Your act of volunteering sets fire to the spirit of those who are employed by the organisation and helps us to develop best practice in our field. You lend the ‘spirit’ of the volunteer to all of us and that enhances my sense of vocation and that of many other staff members.
Long after the Year of the Volunteer, I hope CRI continues to learn from our volunteer colleagues.
David Royce, Chief Executive
