Volunteers are leading social change and impacting communities around the world. Every year during National Volunteer Week, we have the opportunity to celebrate their efforts and contributions. This year, during National Volunteer Week, taking place between April 12-18, let’s shine the light on the hard work and dedication of all the volunteers who are making our communities better places to live, work, and play.
People across our region give their time to various initiatives, serving on boards, and pitching in to help raise funds for various organizations. These volunteers quietly and cheerfully give their time and energy, enabling local organizations working in the social services, environment, sports or culture sectors to deliver services that help boost our quality of life.
I want to take this opportunity to thank my fellow volunteers at the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), an agency of Government of Ontario and the largest granting foundation in Canada. Our volunteers bring their community-based knowledge to the table, and help to inform the Foundation’s investments in the nonprofit sector. In fact, there are teams of volunteers in 16 regions across the province. Their hard work is critical to OTF’s work and its ability to help charitable and non-profit organizations build healthier and more vibrant communities.
The impact of OTF volunteers does not stop there. OTF investments create a ripple effect of volunteerism across the province. Here in the Champlain area, approximately 14,000 volunteers contributed more than 350,000 hours of their time to support organizations that received funding from our Foundation. If we translate their efforts into monetary value, it comes to almost $8.6M of giving!
I know that there are so many more people here in Champlain, who give their time and energy to help out their neighbours. So take a moment during National Volunteer Week, April 12 to 18, to thank volunteers for all that they do.
Ruth Mackenzie
Champlain Grant Review Team
Ontario Trillium Foundation
There are volunteers at a government agency? The Trillium Foundation gives away 100 to 120 million taxpayer dollars each year, I doubt that work is from volunteers.