| December
5th 2002 is International Volunteers Day, giving us the chance
to say “thank you” to the selfless and tireless volunteers who give
their time to Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) throughout New Zealand.
“I
want to acknowledge the incredible contribution that CAB volunteers
make to this country,” says Nick Toonen, CEO of the New Zealand
Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux.
“Without
the 2,750 volunteers who staff the country’s 87 CABs, there would
be no CAB service. The contribution that CAB volunteers make to
their community is enormous. They provide free information, advice,
support and advocacy to a diverse range of people on many issues.
They are to be commended for their commitment to providing the best
possible service to those seeking assistance.
“CAB
volunteers handled 571,803 enquiries last financial year (July 2001-June
2002), which equates to 11,000 client contacts per week, 2,200 client
contacts each working day, or one client contact every twelve seconds
of the working week. This service involves 676,500 hours of voluntary
work, the equivalent of 345 full-time workers.
“While
the value of our volunteers’ contribution cannot be measured in
monetary terms, if each worker was paid a nominal figure of $15
per hour, the total wage bill would be more than $10 million for
the last year alone.
“Members
of the public are often not aware of the time and energy that CAB
volunteers put into their bureau. Every bureaux has agreed to a
set of standards (through the National Association) that ensure
quality and national consistency in the provision of information
and advice. In order for bureaux to meet these standards, volunteers
are required to take part in ongoing training courses, and ensure
their bureau is up to standard. All this involves a lot of extra
time in addition to the average three hours of direct service each
bureau worker gives on a fortnightly basis.”
CAB
encourages people throughout New Zealand to acknowledge the work
of volunteers on December 5th.
|
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