Halifax & Region MFRC thankful for dedicated group of volunteers

From April 10 to April 16 organizations across Canada are celebrating the everyday heroes of their communities: volunteers. Each year Canada celebrates National Volunteer Week (NVW) to thank the 12.7 million Canadians who chose to volunteer and make their homes a better place.

Sponsored by Volunteer Canada and Investors Group, NVW is celebrated annually to recognize volunteers. It is estimated that close to two billion volunteer hours are recorded each year. This is the 13th year that Volunteer Canada and Investors Group have teamed up to sponsor NVW.

“Volunteers nourish our lives with their energy, skills and talents. Through volunteering people also become rooted in their communities, connecting to the people and places where they live. National Volunteer Week is a time to express gratitude for what volunteers and volunteering does for all of us,” said Volunteer Canada President and CEO Paula Speevak in a statement.

This year’s NVW theme is “volunteers are the roots of strong communities.” This theme resonates strongly with the volunteers of the military community and MFRCs across the country aren’t missing the opportunity to thank those that chose to help their communities.

The Halifax & Region (H&R) MFRC is taking to all social media outlets to honour and recognize their volunteers this week, they’ve also created a special space on-site to thank their 150 volunteers.

“Volunteers are the strength behind the H&R MFRC. We are proud and fortunate to have 150 helpers, who devote time to enriching the programs and services we provide to military members and their families,” states the H&R MFRC Facebook page.

The H&R MFRC records 6,500 hours of volunteer assistance each year, totalling more than $100,000 in labour. Volunteers help out in various ways across the MFRC from childcare to photography and administrative assistance to event planning.

The H&R MFRC especially recognized that their volunteers stepped up to the plate during the deployment of HMCS Toronto, from July to January, and volunteered up to 100 hours per week for the Toronto Family Network.

“MFRC volunteers are the strength behind the MFRC and CAF families. Everything that you, our volunteers do to support MFRC programs and services directly benefits CAF members and their families. Your support, skills, and many talents help our families to remain strong and resilient. My heartfelt thank you and appreciation to all MFRC volunteers, we are all so much richer because of you,” said Colleen Calvert, Executive Director of the Halifax & Region Military Family Resource Centre (H&R MFRC).

Other MFRCs, like the MFRC-NCR, have also taken to their social media to thank their volunteers.

In line with this year’s theme, Volunteer Canada is offering NVW branded items made from all-natural seed paper that can be planted.

Volunteer Canada and Investors Group are encouraging Canadians to thank volunteers for using the #NVW2016. Tweets will be featured on volunteer.ca through a live feed.

**Featured image  was created by the Halifax MFRC Volunteer Coordinator based on this year’s theme “volunteers are the roots of strong communities.”