Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
Volunteers will be honoured for their contributions to Jasper and its residents during National Volunteer Week from April 24 to April 30.
This year鈥檚 theme for National Volunteer Week is 鈥淰olunteering is Empathy in Action,鈥� which affirms the strong connection between volunteerism and empathy.
鈥淲e really want to hear from the community on how they鈥檝e experienced Empathy in Action from volunteers, and so we鈥檙e really hoping for stories in that way,鈥� said Ginette Marcoux, a leading member of the organizing committee and executive director of the Jasper Employment and Education Centre.
鈥淚 think those stories would make volunteer week a lot richer.鈥�
Each year, Marcoux brings different organizations together so they all can conduct similar activities for National Volunteer Week and share the gratitude, as many of these organizations are reliant on volunteers in order to operate.
In Jasper, volunteers help out in a variety of ways, such as work in schools, help out with events, work at the food bank or food rescue, assist seniors, organize clean-ups and help shovel sidewalks as part of the Snow Angels program.
Many charitable organizations are also dependent on volunteers for fundraising.
鈥淛asper is very lucky to have the volunteer base that it does,鈥� said Angie Thom, another member of the organizing committee and director of library services at the Jasper Municipal Library.
In previous years, a banquet was held to honour volunteers, but due to the volatility of COVID, celebrations will once again be primarily digital.
The pandemic itself has also restricted volunteering opportunities for many organizations.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 had volunteers in the library for two years and have just started bringing our volunteers back,鈥� Thom said.
鈥淪o, we鈥檙e in that weird position where we thank everyone who鈥檚 volunteered with us over the years but I haven鈥檛 had anyone in (for) two years just because of the restriction.鈥�
While some traditional volunteer opportunities have fallen by the wayside, many residents continued to volunteer in unique ways.
Nancy Addison, for example, has been helping connect dozens of Ukrainian refugees with locals willing to provide sanctuary.
鈥淒efinitely from a volunteer perspective and the theme itself of Empathy in Action, I can鈥檛 think of someone more deserving of being recognized (for) opening her heart to find homes for these people,鈥� Marcoux said.
Once again, Mayor Richard Ireland is expected to proclaim next week as National Volunteer Week, and Jasper Municipal Council will release a thank-you video for local volunteers.
which launched last year, will also continue to highlight the achievements of volunteers.
Volunteer stories can be submitted to [email protected] by April 30 for sharing on the Facebook page and the chance to win a dinner for two.
