April 23 – 29 is a week set aside to recognize the contributions of volunteers across Canada. With over 12.7 million Canadians volunteering 13.3 million hours yearly, there are lots of reasons to celebrate.

A recent press release from Ricardo Miranda, Minister of Culture and Tourism reminds us that “there is not a single Albertan whose life has not been touched by the contributions of a volunteer.”

On Saturday, April 22, Edmonton kicked off National Volunteer Week at West Edmonton Mall with ECVO’s annual Volunteer Fair. Representatives from 55 organizations gathered to meet with potential volunteers.

The excitement was infectious as Mayor Don Iveson kicked off the celebration with a proclamation of National Volunteer Week, followed by a traditional drumming performance by young drummers from the Oak Hill Boys Ranch.

The volunteer fair also marked the launch of ECVO’s 150 Volunteer Voices project, made possible by the Community Fund for Canada’s 150th, a collaboration between the Edmonton Community Foundation, the Government of Canada, and extraordinary leaders from coast to coast to coast. Throughout 2017, we will be gathering stories of volunteerism from local volunteers and sharing them on our website and in the media. During the Volunteer Fair we invited volunteers to step into our story and photo booth to collect their stories. We even had a canine volunteer from Dogs with Wings stop by to share his story (with a little help from his trainer). Watch for that story and 149 more on our Volunteer Page throughout the year.

If you have a volunteer story you would like to share, please contact us. We would love to be able to share your story and inspire other citizens to join Edmonton’s Volunteer movement.

So, not only during National Volunteer Week, but every week, we say thank you to the thousands of Edmonton volunteers who make a difference in our community and in our lives.

Happy National Volunteer Week!