‘Since 1985, what happens every year on 5 December? It is the date chosen by the United Nations General Assembly to establish International Volunteers’ Day.
A special event to honour the mission and commitment of so many volunteers around the world.’
We asked Sister Pascale, the new head of International Volunteering at the Thouret Foundation, to reflect on Volunteer Day.
“This initiative highlights the fundamental, sometimes vital, importance of their contribution to economic, social and ecclesial development at all levels: local, national and international.
We, the Sisters of Charity, who work side by side with so many volunteers in the mission areas where the Lord sends us, want to give them great importance.
We take the opportunity of this event to highlight the commitment of all these people we meet every day: in our parishes, in our neighbourhoods, in our towns and villages, in the various associations and organisations in which we are involved.
Sometimes we no longer notice them, absorbed as we are by the habit of seeing each other and working together every day, sometimes for many years!
We therefore welcome this day as an invitation to rekindle in these people the ardour of the gift they make of themselves, to recognise their contribution, often on the front line in the face of the crises and challenges of our societies.
Let us not hesitate to thank them, encourage them, and value them ardently and sincerely for their generosity, dedication, perseverance, and patience.
At the ecclesial level, let us marvel at all these people who constitute the vital force of the universal mission. Sometimes, let us admit that they are a stirring force, even provocative in the face of certain inertia in our ageing or stagnant institutions. Let us recognise in them their innovative strength. “They are the strength of the Church, the expression of its mission, a grace from God”, as Pope Francis liked to repeat.
This day also reminds us of our mission to continue to call and encourage new members to commit themselves to the service of their brothers and sisters in humanity.
In the face of so many challenges, the spirit of volunteerism is more evident than ever and can only grow stronger.
Charity has no end; every morning it calls us and invites us to go out and serve those most in need around us.
Within the Thouret Foundation, volunteering seeks to renew and diversify itself. Our world is constantly facing new challenges; it is up to us to invent and update responses that are as close as possible to these realities.
We warmly thank all the volunteers, here and afar, who work alongside us every day for a more just and benevolent world for all.”
Sr Pascale Haratyk
International Volunteering – Thouret Foundation
The young people of the Collège Notre Dame in Besançon volunteer a few days to welcome pilgrims to the first house opened by Mother Thouret in Besançon.
Every year, students from the Sainte Marie School in Gray, in Haute-Saône, 50 kilometres from Besançon, prepare and serve lunch and entertain the town’s elderly residents.
Volunteers and Sisters on duty at the Fourneau économique (Soup Kitchen) in Nice.
