It’s time to celebrate and recognize the value of volunteers.
The Bonnyville and District FCSS, along with Bonnyville Community Learning Council (BCLC) will host a community-wide Volunteer Appreciation Day on Thursday.
“It’s to show our appreciation as an organization with our partner agencies to appreciate the volunteers,” said Diahann Polege-Aulotte, community programmer at the local FCSS.
“It’s always important to show that appreciation to the volunteers,” expressed Gerald Corbiere, volunteer at the Bonnville Chamber of Commerce. “Because without the volunteers, many of these organizations wouldn’t exist in our community.”
Organizers have made their event a more community-wide volunteer appreciation. The involvement from the community was increased over the last few years, and so has the turn out at the event.
Polege-Aulotte explained, “In the past, we had specific events and we felt that the turn out wasn’t the greatest. We went community-wide, and it was a wonderful turn out last year.”
The Volunteer Appreciation will have some performances by the Bonnyville Singers and the Bonnyville Centralized High School (BCHS) band, along with speeches from dignitaries; bounce houses, and a free barbecue.
With an initiative to recognize the volunteers for their good work and offerings, FCSS and BCLC started the appreciation day to demonstrate that the community relies on volunteers for the numerous programs offered.
“We rely on volunteers for programs like tutoring adult learners or writing skills,” executive director of the BCLC, Nicole Ferbey noted. “Without hosting a volunteer appreciation event, sometimes they go unnoticed.”
During the event, volunteers have the opportunity to sign up with various community agencies, giving them a chance to build up their resume for future purposes.
Ferbey noted, “We’re able to recruit volunteers at a lot of the events we do, and we’re hoping that we can recruit and definitely recognize the value of volunteers.”
The biggest success was seen last year, when a group from Cold Lake recruited 12 local volunteers.
“It’s a great opportunity to showcase what organizations have to offer and how volunteers can pitch in,” said Ferbey. “It’s really a great fit for everybody.”
The event will kick-off at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 19 at the Bonnyville C2.
