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‘Volunteers Make Waves’ in Dufferin County and across Canada for National Volunteer Week

April 24, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Paula Brown, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Volunteers dedicate countless hours each year to help support their communities, and Dufferin County organizations will be recognizing those contributions during National Volunteer Week (NVW).

Volunteer Dufferin and Volunteer Canada will be celebrating National Volunteer Week (NVW) from April 27 to May 3. National Volunteer Week (NVW) is an annual celebration that recognizes volunteers from coast to coast.

“In Dufferin County, tens of thousands of volunteer hours help drive programs, support events, and strengthen our communities every day. These actions create ripples that lead to greater well-being, stronger connections, and a more resilient community,” said Jennifer Payne, executive director of Headwaters Communities in Action (HCIA), the organization that runs Volunteer Dufferin.

This year’s theme is ‘Volunteers Make Waves’, which highlights the power, impact and importance of individual and collective volunteer efforts across Canada.

“From the smallest act of kindness that starts a ripple of goodwill, to a group of advocates making waves of change, every act is important. Here in Dufferin, people do make waves, they stand up for what they believe in, they go out of their way to help their neighbour, and champion for things they’re passionate about. And many just quietly and humbly offer a helping hand. You can’t go far in Dufferin without encountering a volunteer or evidence of their work,” said Payne.

Payne spoke about the importance of having a dedicated week recognizing the contributions of the volunteers in Dufferin County.

“Most organizations do a great job at showing their volunteers how much they appreciate their contributions. Having a recognition week like National Volunteer Week makes that appreciation more visible amongst the general public too, reminding us all how vital volunteers are in keeping our communities safe, healthy, friendly and beautiful,” said Payne. “It shines a light on the fact that volunteers make things happen, and we cannot take them for granted. Where would we be without volunteers? I can’t imagine that world and wouldn’t want to.”

During National Volunteer Week, Volunteer Dufferin and other local organizations will be launching a “season of engagement” initiative, which will run through the spring, and summer, and wrap up with a volunteer fair in the fall.

Payne noted that volunteering has benefits not just for the organizations and businesses that utilize them, but also for the individual volunteers and the community as a whole.

“For the volunteers, it helps them connect to other community members, offers a sense of purpose, contributes to a sense of belonging, and can also build skills that can help with employment,” said Payne. “For the community, volunteerism builds resiliency, leadership, social inclusion, cohesion and helps create a just society.”

Volunteer Dufferin is a web-based volunteer matching platform run by Headwaters Communities in Action (HCIA).

Volunteer Dufferin supports thousands of individual volunteers and hundreds of organizations to fill opportunities in communities across the county. The organization works to advance volunteerism through an enhanced online matching portal, member communications and surveys, community outreach, partnerships and events.

According to Volunteer Dufferin, there are more than 3,000 individual volunteers registered on the portal.

“We know that there are likely thousands more who are not [registered] and who have a regular volunteer gig that they do, such as church groups, sports teams, school volunteers, hospital volunteers and more,” said Payne.

Today, there are more than 50 active opportunities on the Volunteer Dufferin platform, covering a wide range of activities, including tutoring, barn chores, friendly visits, fostering, first responders, driving, retail, music, events, food and beverage service, and board members.

“There are opportunities suitable for students, seniors, groups, those who prefer virtual volunteering, short- or longer-term commitments. There’s something for everyone,” said Payne.

Those interested in finding a volunteer position or who may need help with finding a match with an organization can visit www.volunteerdufferin.ca.

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