International Volunteer Day: President’s statement to all National Society volunteers

Delivered by President Juan Manuel Suárez del Toro to all National Society volunteers on December 5 2001, International Volunteers Day.

5 December 2001



All Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies are voluntary organizations. They are led by governance volunteers, and their work is mainly carried out by service volunteers. Volunteers are the real strength of the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement. Through you our National Societies have deep roots in local communities, through you the Red Cross Red Crescent is always on the spot when disaster strikes, through you we can run services and other activities of solidarity year after year.

On this day, December 5, International Volunteer Day, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and all Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies salute all our volunteers. We thank you for your humanitarian spirit and for your commitment to our work and to the vulnerable people we serve. We thank you for your energy and for your donation of time and competence. We thank you for your leadership in committees and assemblies and for your impact on local services. Without you volunteers there would not be any Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies.

On this day we also thank all our staff for your hard work to support and enable the work of our millions and millions of volunteers. Volunteers have special qualities; so too do staff. It is by effectively combining the strengths of the two that strong National Societies are forged.

It is this year one hundred years since Henry Dunant, our founder, received the first Nobel Peace Prize. It was from his great idea of recruiting and training volunteers to serve the vulnerable that the whole Red Cross Red Crescent Movement grew. In his name we thank you all