THIS week an important organisation marks its 30th anniversary of activity in the Island.
The organisation in question is the Citizens Advice Bureau, a force for good that accomplishes most of its work quietly in the background, seeking very little in the way of tangible reward for the invaluable services it provides.
Jersey is among the most affluent of affluent societies, but although many of its residents are more than capable of paying for the advice of a lawyer or an accountant in the event of difficulty, we must not lose sight of the many members of our community who cannot afford such services. It is here that CAB provides vital assistance.
The paid professional staff at CAB could earn substantially more in the open job market, but they choose instead to focus on helping others rather than themselves. The same can be said of volunteer advisers who give up their time and offer their expertise for no substantive reward at all.
Together, CAB’s permanent staff and its voluntary workers give the lie to the idea that Jersey is all about getting and spending, naked ambition and the survival of the economically fittest. CAB shows that, amid all the commercial drive and unabashed capitalism, some Islanders have a very well developed social conscience.
It can, of course, be argued that if the services provided by the States were on a truly adequate scale, there would be no necessity for a separate organisation to act as the people’s trouble-shooter.
In reality, however, no social services system is ever going to be so comprehensive that it is capable of dealing with all problems or of being so unintimidating that everyone will be content to seek its help. This is where neutral, impartial, unjudgmental CAB comes into its own.
Over the past three decades CAB and its advisers have demonstrated their worth – often while struggling to secure quite modest funding to support what they do. Long may the organisation prosper, and long may those who hold the Island’s purse strings acknowledge that any funds channelled in its direction will amount to money very well spent.
Service with a conscience
THIS week an important organisation marks its 30th anniversary of activity in the Island.
The organisation in question is the Citizens Advice Bureau, a force for good that accomplishes most of its work quietly in the background, seeking very little in the way of tangible reward for the invaluable services it provides.
Jersey is among the most affluent of affluent societies, but although many of its residents are more than capable of paying for the advice of a lawyer or an accountant in the event of difficulty, we must not lose sight of the many members of our community who cannot afford such services. It is here that CAB provides vital assistance.
The paid professional staff at CAB could earn substantially more in the open job market, but they choose instead to focus on helping others rather than themselves. The same can be said of volunteer advisers who give up their time and offer their expertise for no substantive reward at all.
Together, CAB’s permanent staff and its voluntary workers give the lie to the idea that Jersey is all about getting and spending, naked ambition and the survival of the economically fittest. CAB shows that, amid all the commercial drive and unabashed capitalism, some Islanders have a very well developed social conscience.
It can, of course, be argued that if the services provided by the States were on a truly adequate scale, there would be no necessity for a separate organisation to act as the people’s trouble-shooter.
In reality, however, no social services system is ever going to be so comprehensive that it is capable of dealing with all problems or of being so unintimidating that everyone will be content to seek its help. This is where neutral, impartial, unjudgmental CAB comes into its own.
Over the past three decades CAB and its advisers have demonstrated their worth – often while struggling to secure quite modest funding to support what they do. Long may the organisation prosper, and long may those who hold the Island’s purse strings acknowledge that any funds channelled in its direction will amount to money very well spent.
Article posted on 17th July, 2008 - 3.00pm