In the midst of the heavy ongoing snowfall, not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s hard to realize sometimes there are other things going on, like National Volunteer Week, which will be marked on April 18-24.
Weyburn is a prime example of a community that knows and recognizes the value of volunteers, and has long been known for how people will step up and help out when needed.
Thus, it is only proper there is a week set aside across Canada to pay tribute to the volunteer.
One website that I visited said of volunteering that it is a fundamental act of good citizenship, and is vital to the ongoing health and life of a community.
Consider the events that run (when there isn’t a pandemic shutting everything down …), most of them are organized and run by volunteers, and Weyburn is no exception.
The service organizations that serve the community are all about volunteers. As a few examples in Weyburn, there are groups like the Young Fellows Club, Rotary Club, Lions Club and the Kin and Kinettes, not to mention the Quota Club, and church groups.
There are also school-community councils at every school, along with volunteers at preschool and playschools, and then there are fire fighters and other first responders.
A prime example of how valuable volunteers are was in the response to the massive grass fire southeast of Halbrite on Saturday evening, along with another fire in the Hume area.
The Halbrite-area fire was driven by strong winds and tinder-dry pastures, and it burned up a large area before fire fighters were able to get it all out — and they were volunteers, including area farmers and oilfield workers along with the fire departments. (Thankfully we’ve received a lot of snow since then, so this should dampen any further outbreaks of fires in the area.)
At some point in the far-off distant future, we might be able to have “normal” events once again, and when we do, there will be volunteers selling tickets, organizing activities and making sure people have a good time.
We need that, we all do, so if you are a volunteer, “thank you” — and if you know a volunteer, tell them you’re grateful for what they do, because we need them, now more than ever.
