Sly is grateful for volunteers

Like so many Violence Against Women organizations, shelters & rape crisis centres, Women in Crisis (WIC) began when a small group of volunteers felt so moved to act that they founded their own community benefit organization to help combat violence against women and children. Indeed, it’s the drive and generosity of time by volunteers that sustain most community benefit (ie nonprofit) organizations – organizations that help build communities and make the world a better place.

And while volunteers are essential to the everyday operations of countless nonprofits, volunteerism also functions as a forum for folks both young and old to gain valuable experience in nurtured environments where there’s opportunity to grow skills, expand networks, and explore career paths.

Volunteering has always been part of my life. And I’m so fantastically grateful for the volunteers who continue to help sustain Women in Crisis. In a world where there’s ‘never enough time’, each year WIC volunteers and staff donate 9000+ hours – the equivalent of 4+ full-time positions. This is true dedication: to community, to friends, to strangers who become friends. To self.

The world would not survive without volunteers.

– Sly Castaldi, Executive Director, Women in Crisis

Photo and story courtesy of Chris Tiessen