Volunteer Week 2009 April 19 - 25, 2009
During the week of April 19 - April 25, 2009 communities across Alberta will join forces with Culture and Community Spirit and Volunteer Alberta to celebrate National Volunteer Week. This special week serves to increase public awareness of the vital contribution that volunteers make to our communities. The main purpose of Volunteer Week is to thank those individuals who donate their time to help their fellow citizens.
Volunteers are involved in virtually every aspect of community life in Alberta. The extent to which volunteers contribute to our society cannot be over emphasized. Tens of thousands of Alberta citizens perform voluntary services of both a formal and informal nature. In Alberta, the annual economic impact of our voluntary sector is estimated at 9.6 billion dollars per year. The Government of Alberta and Volunteer Alberta applaud and salute all the hardworking Alberta communities who will participate in the provincial Volunteer Week 2009 initiative.
Volunteer Week in Alberta
Volunteer Week is an internationally designated
week with the purpose of increasing awareness of the important role of volunteers,
nonprofit/voluntary organizations and the volunteer spirit day in our communities. Volunteer Week,
internationally designated in the third or fourth week of April, each year, is a week-long
series of local, regional, national and international events intended to involve all
aspects of the community. Volunteer development opportunities are offered, as well as
recognition of volunteer efforts as scheduled, planned and prioritized by the respective
communities. This week is an ideal opportunity to heighten the awareness of our
nonprofit/voluntary
sector support and, of course, government commitment to this sector of our
province.
Volunteers are teacher assistants, advocates, researchers, policy makers, fundraisers
and councilors. They work with the physically and the mentally challenged, new Canadians,
children and seniors. In a real way, the extent and variety of volunteer work demonstrates
how much it truly is an integral part of Alberta society. We must recognize that voluntary
action and volunteer based services will become an even greater moving force in society,
therefore we must never underestimate the value of volunteerism.
It is for this reason that Volunteer Week has become so important. Through a unique
partnership, Culture and Community Spirit and Volunteer Alberta facilitate a provincial focus
to Volunteer Week in Alberta. While we should always try to recognize volunteers all year
long, Volunteer Week is truly the time that we come together as a province and recognize
the impact of the nonprofit/voluntary sector as a whole and the role of individual volunteers in our
communities.
