"Supervolunteers" to be honoured by Volunteer West Island

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD

andy.blatchford@transcontinental.ca

Volunteer West Island will honour dedicated contributors from the region on Thursday evening as part of a Canada-wide celebration.

To coincide with National Volunteer Week, "supervolunteers," who have been nominated by not-for-profit organizations from around the region, will be introduced at a wine and cheese gathering at the bureau's office in Ste. Anne de Bellevue.

"They're amazing people," said Patrick Merrigan, Volunteer West Island's manager of volunteer recruitment. "That's why I've been in this business for a long time.

"The contribution is enormous, but sometimes we don't think about that and we take it for granted."

Canada is home to 12 million volunteers who help out at more than 160,000 not-for-profit organizations, Merrigan said.

The Volunteer West Island Meals on Wheels program has 900 volunteers alone, he added.

However, 11 per cent of volunteers do 77 per cent of the work.

"Basically it's always the same people who volunteer," he said. "Without these volunteers we might be in a bit of a problem."

Still, Merrigan said the future looks promising.

He sees more and more teenagers between the age of 15 and 19 helping out.

"As a volunteer centre we have to reach out more to (our youth) and . . . give them a good taste in volunteerism," Merrigan said. "It changes our society in a concrete way."

Youth volunteers spend a lot of time tutoring younger kids, but more and more are spending time with seniors, he said.

Merrigan also noted that young families have taking up volunteering together.

Organizations in the West Island are always in need of extra help.

To volunteer or to learn more about Volunteer West Island, call 514-457-5445 ext. 226 or check www.volunteerwestisland.org.