Volunteers' Week puts unsung heroes into the spotlight
Rayhana Brydson, Vista's volunteer development manager, said 'We have a total of a whopping 286 registered volunteers who support us across a huge number of roles. They work in our head office, our charity shops, in our residential homes, and County hospitals. We would not be able to support the thousands of people we do without their hard work."
Vista has volunteers who have been working from only a few weeks through to those that have supported Vista for many years. David Wilcocks, Transcriptions Services Officer, knows first hand of the importance of our volunteers. "Our service is heavily reliant on volunteers. We have a team of more than a dozen people who give us hours of their time every week to make sure Newsline and Audio Newspapers go out on time. They select the stories, record them, and edit the podcast. They're the lifeblood of what we do."
Susan Hoath, Vista Chief Executive, said “the dedication of our volunteers has made it possible for us to provide essential support and services to those affect by sight loss in Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland. Every single volunteer is part of a huge team, supporting our charity shops, sound services, social groups, and many other projects. We want to say thank you! Vista couldn’t do it without you.”
We have been speaking to just a handful of our volunteers, asking them why they volunteer with Vista and what they've gained from their time with us.