Talk of the Town on Volunteering

Talk of the Town on Volunteering

Rosanne Fortier News Correspondent

National Volunteer Week for 2020 is held from April 19-25. This week is meant to show appreciation and celebrate Canada’s 12.7 million volunteers. This year’s theme: ‘It’s time to applaud this country’s volunteers’.

The Town of Vegreville has so many volunteers who contribute numerous hours of their skills and talents to ensure Vegreville is one of the best communities to live in.

When citizens of Vegreville were asked why volunteers were important, their answers varied, but all held to the same sentiments that life would not be the same without volunteers.

Terry Kubin said she feels volunteering is great because you are active with other people of the same mind. “You are doing something for someone else which always makes you feel good. You are usually in a large group with intelligent people who have wonderful ideas and who spark other ideas,” Terry explained. “Most of all volunteers are important to society because they are free and they don’t mind being free. They can pick and choose their activities with like-minded people. Also, there are many jobs that wouldn’t get done if it wasn’t for volunteers. They do make the world a better place. Just like our little great-grandson said, ‘Nana, I want to make the world a better place.’

Another resident of Vegreville, Ardythe Butler said volunteering shows we are a community that helps each other. “They say it takes a village to raise a child and all the wonderful volunteer programs that took place for my children from soccer, skating, Ukrainian dancing, and all the parents who took part to make that happen, they gave my children a wonderful childhood. Volunteers make the community fun to live in.

As well, volunteers are always needed. I think Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) are looking for ways to get volunteers organized to help people who need help during this crisis (COVID-19 pandemic). Then I just think volunteering makes a community work. I think volunteers just make it a good experience for a refugee family who are quite content to live in Vegreville over a big city because volunteers took the time to spend time with them and help them to learn and grow. So, I think volunteers are super and extremely important,” added