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National Volunteer Week is a time to recognize and celebrate Canada’s volunteers and everything that they do to make our communities more welcoming, inclusive, sustainable, and equitable. In fact, I think you would be hard-pressed to think of an aspect of community that volunteers don’t touch.
This year’s theme, Every Moment Matters, resonates with me because, at its core, the act of volunteering is the act of creating a moment with impact. Participating in a community clean-up. Connecting with a senior. Organizing a food drive. Coaching a team. Starting a grassroots community group. The examples are endless. And the ripples caused by these individual acts of volunteering and participation come together to form major impacts—transforming out communities and each other.
Along with the chance to celebrate, National Volunteer Week also affords us a chance to reflect on the state of volunteering in Canada and to plan for the future. We know that so many organizations are struggling, with demand for their services increasing and the number of available volunteers decreasing. And so many Canadians are facing increased levels of loneliness and isolation. That is why we must recommit to strengthening and futureproofing the volunteer and participation landscape in Canada. You can learn more about Volunteer Canada’s efforts to develop a National Volunteer Action Strategy and how you can get involved at www.volunteerstrategy.ca.
Volunteering matters. Each moment of connection matters. It is more important now than ever to celebrate Canada’s spirit of volunteerism and to recommit to doing what we can to continue to nurture the volunteers who make our communities such wonderful and vibrant places to live and work and to encourage others to join their ranks. Now, more than ever, every moment truly does matter.
Celebrate by sharing your collective impact on social media using #NVW2024 and #EveryMomentMatters.
