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.

Call Our 24-Hour Crisis Line

Speak with a trained advocate who can provide assistance with needs resulting from victimization. Call by clicking below!

GET HELP

Testimonials

"With the help of VSS, you are empowered and encouraged to fight back and be pro-active. Then your conscience can be more at peace because you know you have taken some action to protest crimes inflicted on your loved one. It is sometimes your only consolation."

“The one takeaway for me in working with VSS is that it is a necessary organization. I know they are funded by grants and fundraisers but it’s something we need to make sure as a community that they have the funding needed because what they do for people in need doesn’t happen anywhere else. This is the only place that this happens and VSS helps with so many things.”

David Rose

Anchor, Q13 News and Host, Washington’s Most Wanted

“VSS is there when the unthinkable happens. When a police officer knocks on your door and gives you tragic news, VSS helps navigate the court system, which can be very confusing. VSS is compassion, caring, and commitment. Commitment to once justice is done that victims and their families can move forward with their lives.”

Jennifer Gregerson

Mayor, City of Mukilteo

“VSS has been our partner in recovery and healing and a key part in what makes Mukilteo Strong. VSS has been a trusted advocate for the victims that have suffered so much in the community. I’m so grateful to VSS as our partner in strength.”

Jon Nehring

Mayor, City of Marysville

“VSS is there for people in their darkest hour. At a time when they need an advocate and friend, VSS steps in to fill that gap and help them begin their journey back to some sense of normalcy.”

Myrle Carner

Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound

“This thing about closure. There is never really closure in a victim’s life but VSS helps individuals to get closer to that and that’s critical because the cops and the judicial system just move on to another case because they don’t have time. Victims live with this trauma forever so VSS is with them for as long as they need the services. VSS takes the time, more importantly, they really care."

Facebook Feed

[fts_facebook type=page id=113587341909 access_token=EAAP9hArvboQBAHoe4nkFWCSABhF1LZBuKCFYZCDIMTvIGD13O9FIq4ykkGGbhGCLJSVUgHrGIHZCJ6IwPwwd5XwdD1DigHSFTMnmU9fL0d84C8OMMtidvDkW2hQmrLv98AvjhfbZAenryR8bvgURy6M9pLpcAWGwrA9kWA7pAgZDZD posts=2 title=yes title_align=center description=no words=45 popup=no posts_displayed=page_only images_align=center]