International Volunteer Day

Today, December 5th, is International Volunteer Day, a day when non-profits across the globe celebrate the incredible work of their volunteers. illuminAid relies on its amazing network of volunteers for so much, from small but important things like preparing our equipment kits for a workshop to editing videos and even, in the case of our Videomakers Without Borders, helping us host entire workshops--your continued support means the world to us.

But it’s not just illuminAid that has been blessed with such an amazing community of volunteers. This November saw devastating fires spread throughout California, including the state’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire in recorded history, the Camp Fire, which destroyed Paradise, a city of 26,000 people, in a matter of hours. Most of you probably saw reports of the blaze on the news but what you may not have realized is that the illuminAid office is located just a few miles away in Paradise’s neighboring town, Chico, and that one of our staff members lost her home.

Out of this tragedy came incredible support from the community, with volunteers performing everything from looking for lost pets to preparing meals to giving out blankets and new clothes or even acting as volunteer firefighters. In the face of this disaster, volunteers came together and gave up their time and money to aid the community in its time in need. More information on the Camp Fire and how it impacted illuminAid can be found here.

In addition to our own operations, many of the organizations we work with rely heavily on volunteers. When illuminAid hosts workshops, it’s not unlikely that a couple of the attendees will be volunteers themselves.

And so illuminAid wants to thank everyone who’s volunteered for a cause they believed in. For everyone who provided emergency relief during the Camp Fire, for anyone that has helped illuminAid prepare for a workshop, and for those who helped us host a workshop in a unfamiliar nation way outside your comfort zone, illuminAid thanks you.

Interested in volunteering with illuminAid? Visit our volunteer page!