FuseSocial celebrates National Volunteer Week

FuseSocial is ready to host their two staple volunteer appreciation events to honour and celebrate National Volunteer Week in the Wood Buffalo region.

Each year, National Volunteer Week takes place across Canada during April for social profit agencies to thank those who help out. Starting today to April 13, local activities will take place to champion community volunteers.

FuseSocial has been the region’s networking hub for volunteerism for many years, and it organizes the Volunteer Manager’s Appreciation Reception and Timeraiser.

“Volunteer Week is one of the largest initiatives within the FuseSocial Volunteer Resource Management unit, which includes a portfolio of promoting volunteerism in the community. And more importantly, to acknowledge and appreciate our volunteers that make a difference in our community,” said FuseSocial’s Volunteerism Manager Milena Joveska.

Volunteer Managers Appreciation Reception – April 9

The Volunteer Managers Appreciation Reception is set to take place on April 9 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Shell Place terrace.

Guests are invited to enjoy an afternoon to celebrate the 2019 Volunteer Week campaign theme, “The Volunteer Factor – Lifting Communities,” at a local level.

“Volunteer Managers are the driving force for each organization, and through wearing different hats-from event planning, recruiting and training volunteers to showing appreciation and writing reference letters for volunteers, they greatly contribute towards getting the organizations’ vision to concrete activities that will support the local community,” said Joveska.

“We want to show them how much we really appreciate all that they do and we invite them along their outstanding volunteers to join us for an afternoon of celebration of their successes and showing appreciation to their volunteers, as well.”

Tickets are still available at first-come, first-serviced bases. Attendees must register on Eventbrite. Click here to claim tickets.

The 8th Annual Timeraiser – April 11

The 8^th Annual Timeraiser presented by Suncor and Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo will be taking place at the Kirschner Family Art Gallery at MacDonald Island on April 11.

The event concept invites guests to bid on local artwork with volunteer hours. The art is on display in a gallery format and interested volunteers place their bid as if they were “dollars”. The guest with the highest bid takes home the artwork once they have fulfilled their volunteer time commitment with a local social profit organization.

Leading into the art gallery, the participants can visit the booths set up by local social profits, learn what they do and sign up to volunteer to support some of their programs or events.

“This will also be the third year for the Budding Artists Exhibit, which allows enthusiastic artists in the community contribute their art work to our great cause,” said Joveska. “Through getting art from our youth artists, we want to encourage them to keep being creative and also inspire their peers to join us at the TImeraiser and get the volunteer bug!”

Timeraiser is a free community event tagged as “an art auction with a twist.”  In its past eight years, it has raised approximately 3,000 volunteer hours for the local social profit sector. The event runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Kirschner Family Community Art Gallery – upstairs at MacDonald Island.

The Timeraiser Success!

In the past eight years, the Timeraiser has had much success, the following are highlights on how it has helped the social profit sector throughout the years:

• Over 300 local and emerging artists have received public recognition and financial support for their works. Their works have also found homes in residences and businesses across Canada.
• Approximately 17,000 volunteer hours have been pledged to the social profit sector of Wood Buffalo. This is equivalent to 9.34 full-time employees for one years at 35 hours per week.
• A total of 114 social profit organizations in the Wood Buffalo region have been showcased and have recruited volunteers directly as a result of the relationship building at the event.

To learn more about volunteerism and volunteer opportunities available in the Wood Buffalo region, visit www.WBVolunteers.ca, and start a profile to start giving back to the community today.

About the author

Dawn Booth

Editor-in-Chief at YMM Parent | dawn@balsom.ca

Dawn Booth is the Editor-in-Chief of YMM Parent Magazine and Your McMurray Magazine. She has actively worked in the Wood Buffalo region's media industry since residing in Fort McMurray in 2007.

Her passion is writing poetry and puts it at the forefront of the community through her volunteer work as the President of NorthWord Magazine. Most important, Booth puts her family of five first, which includes her husband Ryan and their three children, Landon, Dawson and Tessa.