When I was building my business my friend, and graphic designer, wrote my brand story... "Tracey O'Neill is... Bold. Playful. Genuine. Irreverent. Passionate. Unapologetic. No BS. She's no-nonsense, s...

When I was building my business my friend, and graphic designer, wrote my brand story... "Tracey O'Neill is... Bold. Playful. Genuine. Irreverent. Passionate. Unapologetic. No BS. She's no-nonsense, standing up for what's right with compassion and kindness, yet always direct." The woman who inspired me to become who I am today is Jayne Cravens. And her legacy will be felt long after she's gone, and most people won't even know it. The world owes Jayne more than any of us could comprehend. Not just those of us in volunteer engagement, but those of us in not-for-profits, those who engage volunteers, people who volunteer, the many communities who are under-resourced and intentionally marginalised, those who are spoken down to and are made invisible, those who want the truth as it is lived not just as it is manipulated and shared in the media and on the internet, and those who will benefit from her march toward community and care, no matter what. Because Jayne is one of the people in this world who walks the walk, she doesn't just talk the talk. Jayne doesn't just teach volunteer engagement, she volunteers, consistently. Jayne doesn't just educate formal leaders of volunteer engagement, she educates the world, the curious, the sceptical. Jayne doesn't just share words to combat oppression, Jayne steps up and fights it through action every single day. Jayne wrote the book on virtual volunteering before it became 'the next big thing' (because it was already a thing!) Jayne moderates a Reddit thread about volunteering ON HER OWN... despite the constant requests of those of us in the sector to join her. Jayne makes sure Wikipedia pages about volunteerism are factual and up-to-date and are written by someone who knows, who researches, and who has experienced first-hand. Jayne keeps a thorough website about her work and research so that, as facts are removed from other places to try to manipulate the 'knowledge' of most people, there is still a record of the truth. The risk is that all of this work stops when she does. My hope is that everyone in volunteer engagement gets to know Jayne and her work and starts to work alongside her to educate and advocate and to act on a broader scale. Jayne, you are a social justice and volunteer engagement legend... and I still want to be just like you when I grow up. This International Volunteer Managers Day I honour the decades of relentless work and advocacy you have done. And I thank you for leading the way, every single day. #IVMDay26