It’s National Volunteer Week in Canada – time to give a resounding shout out and THANK YOU to all the Volunteers that lift our communities to greater heights.
According to the 2017 Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement, more than 13.3 million Canadians, or 47% of those over the age of 15, volunteer an average of 156 hours each year. Statistics Canada has identified that volunteers added an outstanding $41,800 million in economic value in 2013 alone.
Volunteer involvement makes our community more engaging, resilient, inclusive and welcoming. No sector is untouched: sports, arts, education, health, government, social services, and neighbourhoods – each are fueled by volunteers and all are stronger and better for them. Volunteers are at the heart of the community, driving it forward to achieve more. They are the lifeblood of organizations, helping them build capacity to meet both short and long term needs. Volunteerism makes an impact that ripples throughout society, because as volunteers strengthen the world around them, they also grow as individuals, benefiting from a sense of belonging and connectedness and the knowledge that they have purpose and value.
As the Volunteer Centre for the Central Okanagan, KCR Community Resources strives to support volunteers and the non-profit sector to achieve their potential. We offer workshops and training for both organizations and individuals to support them in the work they do. Info on upcoming sessions, as well as volunteer opportunities, can be found at www.kcr.ca.
For KCR, as an organization, we are grateful to the 300+ volunteers that support the work we do and for the impact that they make with the donation of over 10,000 hours of their time annually. From the Crisis Line personnel who are just a phone call away for a person in need, to the Family Friend, supporting kids and single mothers, to the Community Connections helping immigrants to settle in their new homeland, to Employment Mentors, who help participants find meaningful work, the gifts of your time, skills and knowledge is invaluable.
For Volunteer Week 2019, we encourage everyone in the community to challenge yourself to really see how and where volunteers effect your life.
Every day for a week, track how and where you intersect with volunteers, and imagine what our world would look like without them. Take a moment to acknowledge and thank the volunteers in your life and remember the powerful impact they make and how their efforts lift our community and make us all better.
