To the editor:
April 10-16 is National Volunteer Week and as Chair of the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s grant review team.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the all the people in Northwestern Ontario that volunteer to make their communities better places in which to live.
As members of the Northwestern Ontario Grant Review Team we get to see in great detail just what volunteers in the Northwest contribute and it is very inspiring as they have such a huge impact. I also opportunity to thank the members of our Grant Review Team for their dedication to making the best possible funding recommendations. It is never easy because all the requests we receive are great. Rarely does a meeting go by when we don’t wish we had more funding.
Having said that the real work starts once we’ve awarded the funding and hundreds of volunteers go to work putting the funding to work. These volunteers quietly and cheerfully give of their personal 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.
They are truly heroes and all of us at the Ontario Trillium Foundation want to thank them for their commitment and hard work.
Here in NorthWestern Ontario, more than 2,307 contributed more than 57,975 of their time to support organizations that received funding from our Foundation. If we translate their efforts into monetary value, it comes to almost $1,391,400 of giving.
So let’s take a moment during National Volunteer Week, April 10 to 16, to thank volunteers for all that they do.
Keith Nymark
Chair, North Western Grant Review Team
Ontario Trillium Foundation
