Volunteers' Week - Thank You

This Volunteers’ Week, South West Aberdeenshire Citizens Advice Bureau (SWACAB) is celebrating and recognising the dedication, compassion and impact of our volunteers.

Volunteers’ Week is a national campaign that shines a light on the remarkable contribution volunteers make to their communities. It is a moment to celebrate and recognise the essential roles volunteers play in supporting people within our community, volunteers strengthening our services and make life changing differences to people’s lives and our communities.

Here at South West Aberdeenshire Citizens Advice Bureau ('SWACAB' ,an independent local charity), we want to take this moment to say thank you to every volunteer in our bureau, past and present. Whether you are an Adviser, Trustee, supporting Administration or social policy or giving a few hours to help with social media - every contribution and every volunteer matters.

It doesn’t depend on the number of hours you give or the size of the task. Our services would not exist without you.

Volunteers are at the heart of every bureau, offering skill, empathy and steady support to the people who rely on us.

Impact at a Glance

Here in SWACAB our volunteers make an enormous difference every day. We are proud to have 26 volunteers, who together contribute around 350 hours of their time each month. This collective effort means more people can get the advice and support they need, when they need it most. By sharing their skills, compassion and commitment, our volunteers help us reach over 1600 unique clients each year with over 11,500 specific pieces of advice on complex issues such as rising household costs, those navigating complex benefit changes, employment matters, food poverty, utilities, relationships and many more topics. In the last year alone, this Bureau secured £1.5 million of ‘client financial gains’ for people - that is money that has been secured for clients..

These numbers show the scale of the quantitative impact, the impact we can measure and report on. The impact volunteering has on people’s life is powerful, life changing and sometime life saving. Providing our clients with essential support at a time of need, offering a sense of hope during difficult times.

Providing opportunities to people to volunteer to develop new skills, confidence and relationships. Here are a few impact quotes from our clients and volunteers, highlighting the difference volunteering has on people’s lives.

‘I feel as if you have literally saved my life’. Client

‘I felt listened to and supported at a time when I was in despair and didn’t know where to turn”. Thank you.’ Client

‘Helping to address some of the imbalance in society feels important.’ Volunteer Adviser

A huge thank you once again to all our volunteers. Your time, care and commitment make a meaningful and lasting difference to SWACAB and our community.

I hope this will inspire others in our community to get involved. Find out more at www.swacab.org.uk or request further information from enquiries@swacab.org.uk

Warm wishes

Grahame Paterson

Chief Officer

South West Aberdeenshire Citizens Advice Bureau