In Praise of our Priceless Volunteers

April 15-21 marks National Volunteer Week – a time to recognize, celebrate and thank Canada’s 12.7 million volunteers, including some very special people we see every week at The Ottawa Mission. Our dedicated army of volunteers – an average of 250 a week! – help to care for hundreds of people every day of the year at our shelter.

We’d like to thank you, dear volunteers, for all that you do.

You feed the hungry, by helping to prepare and serve an average of 1,308 meals every day, and by giving us great support at our special holiday dinners at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

You help organize and distribute hundreds of items of clothing, bringing warmth and a sense of pride to people who have so little.

You bring smiles to the faces of those who often have little to smile about, by pitching in to help with bingo and movie nights, or by dropping by to play cards or cribbage.

And you do so much more…

You come by yourself, with your family, or your church, school groups, or co-workers. You give the precious gift of your time. But what this really means is that you are giving the gifts of kindness, compassion and hope to so many who would otherwise feel forgotten – and these gifts are priceless.

God bless you all!