Championing the noble task of volunteerism is Winsome Wilkins, president and chief executive officer of the Joint Secretariat of the United Way of Jamaica and the Council for Voluntary Social Services (CVSS).

She has been involved in the voluntary sector for over 37 years and she explained why volunteerism is her passion.

"When you are from a big family, you see the importance of community and how it can positively impact people," she said. So she started on this path, working with the Social Development Commission for 13 years. Around the time she left, the United Way was just coming on board and, after attending a preliminary workshop, she was offered a position. She says joining United Way in 1985 "was the best decision I ever made".

She is responsible for the mobilisation of resources for the private voluntary sector, which isn't easy but she's making progress. In her tenure at the United Way, she has guided the fund-raising and disbursement of nearly $1 billion to over 3,500 agencies, institutions and projects that assist in various fields, including skills training, community development programmes and agriculture.

"We would have loved to have a greater presence or reach. Right now we only operate out of Kingston ... but we have a strong core of volunteers," she said.

Wilkins, who was CARIFTA champion and record holder in shot putt and discus in the '70s, also works with the Open Bible Standard Churches in Jamaica, an organisation that is highly involved in youth and community development. She is vice-chair of the Kingston Restoration Foundation as well as a member of the Child Development Agency's Advisory Committee. She is also a trained mediator with the Dispute Resolution Foundation.