A great time was held by all that attended NAMI Contra Costa’s spring Volunteer Appreciation Celebration on a rainy day last Friday, March 29, 2024. Over 50 people shared refreshments, and got acquainted sharing a common desire to volunteer their time, talents and energy. This quarterly event is to show our heartfelt gratitude to those who completed our Volunteer Module trainings and made a commitment to giving back to their community. Each Volunteer is helping NAMI CC achieve our mission to help provide education, advocacy, support and outreach to loved ones and family members impacted by mental illness.
Originally scheduled to be held in our Concord office’s courtyard due to the rain, we transitioned to indoors which allowed us to be more warm and comfortable. Our Volunteer Coordinator, Shelly Ji kicked off the program with a warm welcome and then passed it on to our Executive Director Gigi Crowder introduced herself, the board President, Susan Horrocks and other board members present. Gigi introduced our wonderful staff and current as well as future interns and shared the roles they each play or will play to improve outcomes for those impacted by behavioral health challenges.
Each new Volunteer was warmly greeted as they shook hands with the Leadership team and were honored with their volunteer certificate for completing the module training along with their official NAMI CC photo badge. It was a special feeling that everyone who filled the conference room were kind souls dedicated to social justice and looking toward building mental health friendly communities for All.