Are you taking time this week to thank the volunteers active in your life? Now is the perfect time because it is National Volunteer Week, April 21 to 27.
Volunteers surround us. In the Central Okanagan we volunteer at a higher rate (53 per cent) than the B.C. (49 per cent) or Canadian (47 per cent) average, according to the Statistics Canada 2010 Caring Canadians, Involved Canadians report.
To help celebrate, KCR has sponsored What Hat Will You Wear? This brief video features 11 local volunteers who represent the 55+ age demographic as they describe what motivates them to volunteer.
Jim McCaffery is involved with the Royal Canadian Legion because: “it keeps me active and I get the feeling that I am contributing. I enjoy the camaraderie and am learning more about the aims and responsibilities of this great organization.”
The BC Cancer Agency is blessed to have Kathy. “Volunteering has offered me a way of making new friends, expanding my network, and keeping me busy. Volunteering has exceeded my expectations. It uplifts my spirits every day!”
Norm Caig has been a player, coach and board member with Kelowna Minor Baseball. “The season is short and you have a great time while helping the kids who love the game.”
With Community Policing, Julie Spencer adds: ”I enjoy working on a team with like-minded people in an effort to help reduce crime in the community.”
Other volunteers in the video each focus on one word to describe their motivation. There is fulfillment at Habitat for Humanity, caring at Salvation Army, rewarding feelings at CDART, and culture at Kelowna Community Theatre.
There is knowledge at Kelowna Museums, music at Okanagan Symphony, hope at Terry Fox Run, and compassion at Kelowna’s Gospel Mission.
This group of 11 volunteers jointly asks you: “What motivates you?”
View the video at the www.kcr.ca or Facebook at Volunteer.Central.Okanagan.
The video was funded in part by the Government of Canada New Horizons for Seniors Program and produced by UBCOTV.
