Julie Rogers and Mary Williams, celebrating their 20 years’ service with Citizen’s Advice West Oxfordshire.
Citizens Advice West Oxfordshire (CAWO) is celebrating its 50th anniversary of assisting the people of West Oxfordshire since they began back in 1974. They are also paying recognition to two valued team members who have been part of the charity for an incredible 20 years.
“Things have changed enormously since I first joined as a volunteer in Sept 2003,” explains Julie Rogers, one of those with two decades of service with CAWO. “Twenty years ago, CAWO was located opposite the Methodist Church in Witney. With two interview rooms and one office, we all bunked in together. One wall of the office was taken up by advice files. There was no internet then! Our cases were written up on blank templates and stored on paper. I was one of the ‘new’ generations who could word process so I worked out how to format my write ups so that they would print onto the template – get me and my cutting-edge technology!
Clients would arrive and wait in the tiny little corridor to be interviewed by a volunteer. Everyone got a full appointment, but some people had to wait all day, or might wait all day and then be asked to return first thing the next day to be guaranteed an appointment.
I am enormously proud to be part of an amazing, professional, compassionate team at CAWO who do so much to help our fellow travelers on this path that we call life, to find a way forward at challenging times. I believe it is essential to look out for each other in and around our communities. As the MP who officially opened the current CAWO office in Witney said, the way a community treats its most vulnerable members is a measure of its worth. On a personal level, I benefit immensely from helping people through my work. Doing good does you good – I highly recommend it.”
Mary Williams has also been involved as a volunteer for over 20 years. “In 2003 I saw an ad in the Steeple Aston newspaper, and I have been volunteering ever since! What changes I have seen. I had semi-retired but decided to volunteer one day a week as my parents always said Citizens Advice was a great organisation. My volunteer roles have varied over the years but what I most enjoyed was always using my brain. My initial training was so comprehensive it took over six months!
I also benefited from the Financial Capability training funded by Nationwide. In this advice role, I helped with army redundancies, sessions with young offenders and families in need. I attended court with a disabled client who had to declare she was bankrupt - that was my first time in court. All advice we delivered face-to-face but since the pandemic when Citizens Advice made rapid changes to our advice support, I have helped with telephone advice and more recently Web chat.
I have learnt a huge amount by volunteering at Citizens Advice. Over many years I have enjoyed the challenges brought by doing a wide variety of distinct roles which have enabled me to empower our clients to hopefully solve some of their problems.”
Chief Officer at Citizens Advice West Oxfordshire, Teresa Archer, added her gratitude for the work these two ladies have done with CAWO. “We are indebted to Julie (as a staff member) and Mary (as a volunteer) for the 20 years of amazing service they have given. Thank you. Of course, we are grateful to all our incredible staff and volunteers for all their dedicated support over the years, but this marks a special milestone.
We are always looking for new volunteers and with the demand for advice as high as it has ever been, joining now is as important as ever. “
To find out more and apply, visit citizensadvicewestoxon.org.uk or contact recruitment@cawo.org.uk
