Our hundreds of dedicated community volunteers come from all age groups, all walks of life, and have so many unique personalities, and their amazing year-round efforts of caring, sharing, and assisting so many others has and always will be a vital and much appreciated gift to our town and county.
Our proud volunteers of yesterday and today have faithfully served and supported their communities by willingly sharing their time, talents, and enthusiasm in so many sincere and wonderful ways, from coaches, to parents/grandparents, to leaders, to special friends, and on and on. These very active volunteer programs have also been blessed by the ongoing support and sponsorships of countless clubs, organizations, schools, churches, businesses, and individuals who passionately ‘pitch in’ to assist with the successes of programs, events, and projects that are designed to benefit so many special needs, causes, and people.
Celebrating National Volunteer Week
Volunteering is a work of the heart and from April 23 to 29 hundreds of thousands of volunteers across our great nation will be toasted and honoured for their dedicated efforts in and around the vast urban and rural areas that they serve all year round. One of the great benefits about becoming a volunteer is that it will always be the choice of the participant as to which programs you would like to dedicate your time, skills, and experience to, with ongoing assistance and encouragement available from the congenial co-ordinators and organizations who really appreciate your involvement and whose goals are to find the best placements for everyone.
In 2016 in Ponoka our 244 volunteers at the Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre and the Centennial Centre for Mental Health and Brain Injury proudly provided over 14,000 hours of quality patient care and contributions to their many popular programs. These delightful and kindly year-round programs include: Pet visitation, palliative care, mealtime assistance, pampering time, serving at the Hidden Treasure gift shop and the Boutique, creating bulletin board displays, Chapel Portering, Unit friends, Golden Spoons, Caring Klowns, community visitors, helping as Respiratory Assistants and at various clinics, as well as providing evening entertainment, movie nights, and many other support programs, projects, special events, and so much more, all from the heart. The Central Zone of Volunteer Resources/Pastor Care for Alberta Health Services is managed by Lynn Gray, and during their extremely active 2016 programs 13,620 volunteers proudly gave close to 995,000 hours to the care of others.
To honour their amazing volunteers from Ponoka and districts a gala National Volunteer Week celebration will be held on April 25 at the Kinsmen Community Centre to which everyone is welcome to attend. As well as cake and refreshments and a little gift for each participant the evening of fun and camaraderie will begin with a Hoola Hoop Fun and Demo from 5 to 6 p.m., the annual Rita Scott and Morna Chorney Awards presentations from 6 to 6:40 p.m., and then the wild and wonderful talents and antics of entertainer Nikki Reed with her Pinky Doo Wop ’50s and ’60s Rock and Roll Comedy Show. Those wishing to attend this great annual event are urged to RSVP no later than April 21 by contacting: Janice Mackie, Volunteer Co-ordinator at 403-783-7782 email: janice.mackie@ahs.ca, or Leanne Brusegard, Volunteer Co-ordinator at 403-704-8312 or email: Leanne.brusegard@ahs.ca.
These ladies also really look forward to meeting individuals and groups in Ponoka town and county of all ages who are interested in taking part in the amazing volunteer experience of making moments matter and of sharing your time and skills with so many very appreciative patients and families. Please phone or drop in to the Volunteer Services offices at the Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre or the Centennial Centre for Mental Health and Brain Injury and Leanne and Janice would be pleased to go over the program with you. As we salute each and every one of our precious volunteers from all causes and projects in and around of our community and districts, please give yourself a pat on the back for so willingly lending a helping hand to others in so many kind and specials ways.