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National Volunteer Week kicks off at Pioneer Manor

'Volunteers are the roots of strong communities'
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City officials and Sudbury Volunteer Managers Network staff kick off National Volunteer Week at Pioneer Manor on April 11. Photo supplied

On Monday, the Sudbury Volunteer Managers Network (SVMN) hosted the kickoff of National Volunteer Week at Pioneer Manor. As in previous years, the SVMN organized the event to celebrate the extraordinary contributions of volunteers in the Greater Sudbury community.

A number of residents and local non-profit agencies were in attendance, and there was a proclamation by Mayor Brian Bigger and a guest speech by Marcus Schwabe.

This year, the SVMN adopted Volunteer Canada’s theme of "Volunteers are the roots of strong communities."

According to this year’s theme, volunteers are essential for communities to bloom, just as roots are essential for trees to bloom.

“Thanks to volunteers, our communities grow strong and resilient,” the SVMN said in a news release. “Even the tiniest volunteer effort leaves a profound and lasting trace in a community, much like tree rings that appear over time.”

Barb Nott, a board member with Volunteer Sudbury, said in the release that one of the greatest aspects of volunteerism is that there are so many different ways to do it.

“Sometimes, we volunteer without even making conscious recognition of it — for example, helping out at church or coaching your child in soccer,” Nott said. "Not only has the amount of volunteerism increased, but the impact of volunteerism is increasing, as well. Volunteers give freely of their time and expertise in order to make a difference. Thank you for all you do."

In addition to speeches, tokens of appreciation were also distributed to guests at the event. These include bookmarks as well as packages of seeds to honour the theme of National Volunteer Week.

“We are thrilled by the number of organizations involved in National Volunteer Week,” said Linda Dupuis, of United Way Sudbury and Nipissing Districts. “Sudbury is blessed to have so many active volunteers and we certainly want to celebrate them.”

The SVMN would like to thank all volunteers in Greater Sudbury for their contributions to our community. For more information on how you can get involved in the SVMN, please contact Linda Dupuis at [email protected][email protected].


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