12/6/2005 - Message to AFS Volunteers
Dear AFS Volunteer,
Today, as we observe the International Volunteer Day, we are celebrating what makes AFS an effective organization, promoting understanding among cultures and helping people develop the knowledge and skills needed to create a more just and peaceful world. Today we honor you, our volunteers, because we know that what makes us an effective and viable organization is in very large part, due to your contributions.
This celebration of volunteerism is global in nature, and rightly so. However localized your work might be, from helping an AFS participant find a host family in Finland or facilitating an orientation for departing students in South Africa, what you do for AFS has a global impact and benefits the larger world beyond your nation. We know that your work for AFS can be difficult and demanding. We are incredibly fortunate to have you as a member of the AFS family and as a member of one of the largest volunteer based organizations in the world.
Traditionally, dictionaries define a volunteer as someone who renders a service for another person or an organization while having no legal concern or financial interest. AFS volunteers are not traditional in this sense, and if I were to attempt a definition of what you do for AFS, I would find it difficult, if not impossible to do so. This is because your contributions are extraordinary and indispensable to the advancement of our mission and our goals. AFS could not possibly exist without you.
I thank you for all you do; not only today, but every day in which you help us make a difference by so generously giving of your time, your passion and your dedication to AFS. To each volunteer like you, in every corner of the world, we honor your contributions and with our deepest appreciation, we acknowledge your work on International Volunteer Day.
Warmest regards, Tachi Cazal
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