Photo: Grande Prairie Volunteer Services Bureau

By Shane Clausing

National Volunteer Week

Grande Prairie volunteers encouraged to make signs for National Volunteer Week

Apr 21, 2020 | 12:00 PM

This week marks National Volunteer Week across Canada. It has been going on annually for 30-plus years and recognizes the importance of volunteers in the community.

Normally during the week, the Grande Prairie Volunteer Services Bureau would host the Leaders of Tomorrow luncheon as a celebration of volunteerism in the community.

However, because of COVID-19, a lunch cannot be held.

Instead, the GPVSB is hosting a Volunteer Search, an activity both kids and adults can participate in.

The Volunteer Search begins on Wednesday, April 22, and it encourages households who have volunteers to make signs and hang them in their windows telling people that they volunteer.

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Kids from K-7 are then encouraged to walk around their neighborhoods and count the number of volunteer signs that they can find. Whoever can find the greatest number of volunteer signs will get a prize. Those who enter the contest still get an entry into a second-place draw.

Carol-Ann Pasemko is the Executive Director of the Grande Prairie Volunteer Services Bureau and says it’s important to get the younger generation thinking about the number of people that help in the community.

“What we decided to do instead was that we really wanted to recognize volunteers and have the younger generations coming up to understand the importance of volunteers.”

Pasemko says that the idea of a signs contest came from an idea out east, where volunteers are putting teddy bears in their front windows to show people that they volunteer.

“There are thousands of volunteers in this city and we’d really like them to put one up for kids and count the number of volunteers that they can find.”

The GPVSB is also encouraging those who make signs to post it onto the GPVSB special volunteer website that was created to showcase the signs.

Pasemko is hoping that they get several hundred submissions on the website. The contest goes until April 29.

Anyone who utilizes volunteers is also being asked to write letters to all volunteers to help thank them for their service. The letters submitted will also be posted on their website.

The weeklong celebration takes place from April 19-25. The sign contest ends on April 29.