Thank You John!

Vineyard Compassion is all about people. The people we help, our staff and of course our wonderful volunteers. The truth is we couldn’t do what we do without our volunteers, so it was with sadness and immense gratitude this week, that we said goodbye to John Kelly. Travelling an unbelievable 91 mile round trip from his home, two days every week and many times four days a week, John has been supporting our work for 9 years. He has made an invaluable contribution during this time, particularly through his work in our Link Logs project. John has worked alongside local men, mentoring them with good humour and compassion, as they journey back to employment.

CEO Ricky Wright said:

“I want to put on record my thanks to John for his many years of dedicated service. John has been a core part of our team at Compassion and in particular I want to pay tribute to his work in Link Logs. John has played an important role, supporting local people as they rebuild their confidence and self esteem after facing personal challenges. The team at Vineyard Compassion will miss John’s friendly smile and dedication to our community but we wish him many blessings as he begins this new chapter.”

Link Logs Manager Jeremy Gillen added:

“John has always displayed a richness of wisdom and maturity as he has poured himself into the project and into the individual lives of the countless men who have been impacted by Link Logs over the last number of years.”

"I, in particular, will miss John for his wisdom, not just around cutting wood and running a business but in how to support men on their journey. He is a great mentor to me and will be greatly missed."

Our volunteers are at the heart of our work supporting our local community. If you would like to follow in John’s footsteps in Link Logs or indeed explore our wide range of volunteering opportunities give us a call and we can tell you more.