April 19-25 is National Volunteer Week across Canada, an opportunity to celebrate the spirit, dedication and selflessness of almost 13 million Canadian volunteers who contribute more than 166 million hours each month to helping our community.
We all know people for whom volunteering in our community is a way of life rather than an obligation. Indeed, the Ukrainian Canadian community relies on the generosity of volunteers to make possible our many festivals, camps, educational activities and cultural programs.
As part of National Volunteer Week the Ukrainian Canadian Congress offers our sincere thanks and recognition of community volunteers. Particularly now, the current crisis reminds us how important volunteers are in making our communities strong and successful.
We support and encourage volunteer leadership with the Taras Shevchenko Medal, UCC Leadership Awards and Youth Leadership Awards, which are presented every three years to outstanding community volunteers.
Please tell us about the people doing great volunteer work in your community now and throughout the year. We’ll try to include as many names as possible on our online 2020 Volunteer Recognition List. Send us a video or an email by Friday April 24 to let us know why you think they deserve special recognition this year.
Finally, we want Canadians to celebrate all volunteers by printing out and decorating their windows with Volunteer Canada’s clapping hands image with the message Cheers to Volunteers! or with your own designs.