To our Rockstar Volunteers, Thank You

Written by: Leslie McPherson, Programs Administrator

“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time, they have the heart.” –Elizabeth Andrew

Behind every successful organization there are extraordinary volunteers. In a day and age where time is a precious commodity, it’s important to find the right words to thank volunteers who take time from their busy lives to help out.

Victim Support Services’ volunteers serve in many capacities, but the majority provide crisis intervention, emotional support and resources on our statewide hotline, which is an extremely critical service to the community. Individuals hurt or harmed by crime can call M-F between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. PST, as well as text 24/7/365, including holidays. Without a fabulous team of trained and compassionate volunteers responding, we would not be able to staff the hotline like we do and help those that need it the most.

For me, it’s hard to come up with adequate words to describe how much I appreciate the dedication and immeasurable valuable work our volunteers do for VSS. It can be a daunting task to answer a call not knowing what is going to be on the other end of the phone. At times, a volunteer may question the extent of the impact their efforts have had, and the work is certainly not easy.

To our Rockstar volunteers, please always remember that what you are doing is making a huge impact on the victims of crime you come in contact with. Thank you for your compassion and your awareness, for seeing the need and responding. Thank you for sharing your skills and knowledge to help improve lives and build the capacity of those who have not had the same. Thank you for your patience, respect and perseverance, but most of all thank you for your kindness, care and love and for being the inspiration the world needs. I thank you so very much for agreeing to serve in this capacity. Your commitment makes a difference.

“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” – Martin Luther King Jr.