Every year on 5 November, International Volunteer Managers Day (IVMDay) celebrates the dedicated professionals and leaders who make volunteering possible. Around the world, volunteer managers, administrators and team leaders play an essential role in inspiring, recruiting, supporting and developing volunteers who give their time and skills to make a difference in their communities.
Behind every successful volunteer is a network of people working tirelessly to ensure that volunteers feel welcomed, valued, supported and empowered. Their work may not always be visible on the frontline, but its impact is felt in every community served, every life touched and every act of kindness delivered.
Volunteer management is about much more than recruitment, administration and coordination. It is about recognising potential, nurturing commitment, building relationships and creating an environment in which people can flourish through service.
Few stories illustrate the enduring power of volunteering better than the remarkable three-generation commitment of Dr Marco Lau and his family at the Hong Kong St John Ambulance Brigade.
Our family’s journey with the Hong Kong St John Ambulance Brigade (the Brigade) began in the 1960s with my father, Dr. Wing-sang LAU, who joined the Brigade as a volunteer surgeon. Beyond providing first aid on the frontlines, he spent decades teaching first aid and examining members. For my father, serving St John was more than a commitment – it was a deeply fulfilling call where he built lifelong bonds with fellow St John volunteers.
His passion was contagious. Upon our university graduations, Dad encouraged his three sons – Ricci, Matthew, and me – along with his daughter-in-law, Vivianne, to join St John as volunteer doctors and dentists. Today, each of us has been serving St John for over 40 years, bringing our family’s combined contribution to more than two centuries of dedicated voluntary service in the St John family.
We are proud to pass this fine heritage to our next generation, in which three of them – Jun, Joie, and Sean – have already joined as volunteer doctors and cadet respectively, with more preparing to follow in our footsteps.
We warmly invite all St John members to encourage their families to join us in this noble mission continuing in the Service of Mankind together.
Pro Fide
Pro Utilitate Hominum
Dr Lau’s family story shows how the spirit of volunteering can be passed down through generations, with family support and encouragement helping to build a lasting tradition of service. It also highlights the importance of making volunteering a positive experience, where people feel welcomed, supported and appreciated for the time and commitment they give.
At St John Ambulance Cymru, this year’s International Volunteer Managers Day provides an opportunity to recognise the contribution of National Volunteer Manager Emily Sockett, whose recent initiatives demonstrate how thoughtful leadership and innovation can strengthen the volunteer experience. Emily has led three significant areas of development, helping to make volunteering with St John Ambulance Cymru quicker to start, simpler to manage and broader in its reach.
When someone decides to volunteer, enthusiasm and momentum matter. A lengthy recruitment and onboarding process can sometimes cause prospective volunteers to lose interest before they have the opportunity to make a contribution.
Recognising this challenge, Emily and her team introduced a one-day onboarding programme, bringing key elements of the joining process together in one place. New volunteers can meet members of the team, complete essential joining requirements and begin training modules within a single day, rather than navigating several separate steps over a number of weeks.
This approach creates a more welcoming and efficient introduction to St John Ambulance Cymru, helping new volunteers feel part of the organisation from the outset and enabling them to begin contributing sooner. Technology also has an important role to play in modern volunteer management.
Emily has played a key role in digitalising volunteer processes through the introduction of a new volunteer app. Tasks that previously relied on paperwork, emails and spreadsheets can now be managed in one convenient place. The app makes it easier for volunteers to manage their personal details, explore opportunities and stay connected with their teams.
By simplifying everyday administrative processes, digital innovation allows volunteers and their managers to spend less time navigating procedures and more time focusing on the activities that matter.
Through building relationships with other St John establishments across Europe, Emily has helped create opportunities for volunteers from Wales to gain experience abroad, while welcoming volunteers from partner organisations to St John Ambulance Cymru. These exchanges provide opportunities to share knowledge and skills, experience different approaches to volunteering and discover the wider reach of the international St John family.
They also strengthen relationships between St John organisations, encourage collaboration and bring fresh perspectives and ideas back to local communities. It is a wonderful example of how volunteer management can extend beyond organisational boundaries, creating connections that enrich both individuals and the wider St John movement.
Together, these initiatives demonstrate what effective volunteer management can achieve: a more accessible entry into volunteering, better support throughout the volunteer journey and opportunities to grow through international connections.
The stories of Dr Marco Lau’s family and Emily Sockett highlight two important aspects of volunteering within St John. The inspiration and family traditions that pass service across generations, and the leadership and dedication needed to help volunteers thrive. Both remind us that volunteering relies on more than those delivering the service. Behind every volunteer are people who welcome, support, encourage and create opportunities for others to make a difference.
Volunteer managers are the driving force behind this work, ensuring volunteers feel valued, supported and connected to St John’s mission.
