Celebrating National Volunteer Week 2020

Celebrating National Volunteer Week 2020

A Message from Carey Lucki, CEO at Circle of Care

National Volunteer Week is a time to celebrate and thank Canada’s 12.7 million volunteers.

This year’s theme is: “It’s time to applaud this country’s volunteers.” At Circle of Care, we applaud all our volunteers and the countless hours that they have given so freely to our clients and programs over the past year. The spirit of volunteerism never ends among each of our volunteers. Individually and collectively, they have shown compassion, perseverance and a genuine good will for helping others.

We are currently in a very uncertain time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic made it necessary for us to cancel many of our volunteer-run programs, for the safety of everyone involved. This experience has heightened our awareness of the incredible impact that our volunteers have at Circle of Care. The absence of volunteers these last few weeks could really be felt by our clients and employees.

We are doing our best to fill in the gaps however we can. Our Phone Pals program has helped to ease some of the isolation felt by our clients, and our staff are also taking on some of the roles that were previously filled by volunteers. But this is just a temporary measure, and we look forward to the day when we can restart our programs and bring our volunteers back.

We appreciate and applaud each and every one of our volunteers:

• Our KMOW and grocery pick up volunteers who ensure seniors receive nutritious meals;
• Our Friendly visitors, phone pals and Let’s Get Together volunteers who help clients feel less alone, isolated and anxious;
• Our Hospice volunteers who sit at the bedside of someone with a life limiting illness and provide caregiver relief;
• Our Bereavement volunteers who are present with someone who is grieving;
• Our Adult Day program volunteers who spend quality time with clients, and assisting our program staff;
• Our Clerical volunteers whose work frees up staff time to work on other tasks;
• Our Peer support volunteers who support their peers; and
• Our Volunteer Advisory Committee members who provide direction and guidance to our volunteer department.
• Our volunteer Board of Directors who continue to provide corporate oversight and governance for the organization.

Thank you to all our volunteers for everything you do to make Circle of Care a better organization for our clients, our employees, and the community. Your contributions are priceless. Happy Volunteer Week!