VN&V Winter 2014
Summer 2014
ved
Ja
han
K
Our new Chief Executive,
Javed Khan, joined us on
1 May. Here he speaks about
his passion for volunteers
and how he sees volunteering’s
essential role at Barnardo’s
growing in the future…
02
I’ve got lots of experience
of volunteering; from being a
volunteer myself as a teacher
in a supplementary school, to
managing services that make
the best of volunteers and
championing volunteering.
In my previous organisation,
Victim Support, volunteers
outnumber staff by four to one.
I made sure I got out and about
meeting volunteers on the
front-line to get to know them
and what they needed from me.
I’m pleased to be involved
in Volunteers’ Week – I’ll be
volunteering myself, rolling
up my sleeves and speaking
to more of you to find out
more about what you think.
Volunteers are absolutely
critical to Barnardo’s. I’m
very proud to be part of an
organisation that has such a
diverse range of volunteers in
a broad range of roles. Much
of our work just wouldn’t
happen without you. I’m really
impressed with the passion, the
commitment and the absolute
dedication to what you do.
Our volunteers are gold
dust and deserve the greatest
respect, and that’s got to start
with me. Every day when I turn
on my computer and phone
and see all the emails that have
come in, the ones I look for
are from volunteers first and
foremost. I want you to know
that I care about you and want
to hear what you think, so
that’s why I look out for those.
I’ve had many messages already
and every one of them has
had a personal reply.
We need strong support
structures in place to recruit,
train and support our
volunteers. Our business
plan states our ambition for
volunteering: to support and
enhance the role of volunteers
and become the charity of
choice for volunteering by
2016. I’m really pleased that
we already have a strategic
direction that is being put
into action.
We need to make more
opportunities available for
volunteering in more areas
of our work. We’d benefit from
the skills and expertise people
would bring and it also helps
to build people’s self-esteem,
their confidence and their
contribution to society.
I want to know what you
think. Your voice is just as
important as anyone else in
this organisation. I’m very
easy to reach: write to me,
leave me a phone message.
I’m still learning a great deal
about what works well and
what can be done differently at
Barnardo’s. I want us to work
together to make sure that the
future of Barnardo’s is as rich
and successful as the past.
Javed Khan
Chief Executive
[email protected]