How many volunteers does it take to create Miracles Day?
Stories | August 29, 2019
80. That is how many amazing volunteers came through our doors on Miracles Day 2019, and we could not have done it without them. Their energy filled CBM HQ with good vibes, good food and great stories. They started to arrive at 6am and most of them stayed until after 10pm to hang out and help us achieve over 40,000 Miracle gifts of sight.
So who fed all these amazing volunteers as well as CBM staff on our biggest event of the year? Say hello to our catering heroes: Liz, Sue and Trudy who led a team of 12 volunteers that kept everyone fed with scrumptious breakfasts, snacks, lunches and dinners from 6am – 10pm.
I spoke to Sue, one of CBM’s legendary volunteer coordinators, about all the local businesses that donated food, vouchers and goodies on the day, “It’s about building relationships with local traders who get to know us over the years.” Local butchers and bakers were more than happy to give major discounts.
Woothworths, Coles, Bakers Delight and Costco all saw the value in supporting Miracles Day with food and discounts. However, Costco were the standouts. “Costco were fantastic.” Explains Sue, “We’ve been working with them for four years and it’s lovely. They’re really happy to help their members.” They didn’t just supply CBM with an abundance of food, they sent goodie bags which included toys, stationery and Costco membership cards.
People came from everywhere to volunteer at our headquarters in Box Hill, including 25 amazing friends, family and Youth Leaders from Trinity Methodist Church, Doveton. Thank you! You really kept the positive vibes flowing and the phone lines ringing.
We even had a couple of volunteers from the local musical theatre company, NOVA. They planned to stay for two hours, but were having such a great time in the contact centre chatting to our supporters that they decided to stay for a whopping eight hours! They shared a few stories that really touched us on the day.
One that stood out was the call from Alan and Marilyn. Alan is on the waiting list for eye surgery, and Marilyn’s friend benefitted from cataract surgery recently, so the cause really hit home for them. They decided to donate ten Miracle gifts and asked others to match it. Wow!
Eleven volunteers from CBM’s audit firm, Saward Dawson, kept the phone lines going for hours. Saward Dawson also donated $10,000 that was matched by radio listeners across Australia. We really appreciate them! And thanks to the nine volunteers who helped process the huge amount of donations that rolled in from 6am – 10pm.
Miracles Day at CBM HQ was filled with excitement and joy thanks to all the fantastic volunteers who sacrificed their time and spent the day raising a record-breaking amount of sight-saving Miracles gifts. We really enjoyed connecting and sharing stories from callers all over Australia.
It was an inspiring day where people come together and proved that together we can achieve anything.
On average, a cataract operation takes just 12 minutes but can change a life forever. There is still time to give someone a Miracle
Learn more about volunteering with CBM
https://www.cbm.org.au/stories/volunteers-on-miraclesday
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