Why do we volunteer? How is it important? Why do we celebrate it?
I can give you the answer to all of these questions after attending the 18th Annual Volunteer Awards hosted by Propell:us.
Firstly, what is this? Propell:us (formerly known as Volunteer Calgary) is a non-profit organization that provides grants and skills to other non-profits in Calgary. The goal of Propell:us is to propel the whole community, for everyone to move forward together. As part of this initiative, they host an annual awards ceremony to recognize volunteers and to keep inspiring action. A big thank you to them for making this all possible!
We celebrated all volunteers, from youth to seniors, from immigrants to families and from businesses to horses. Yes, I mean horses.
Throughout the evening, the question was brought up:
Why do we volunteer?
Because volunteering is who we are.
From when I’m writing this, it has been roughly 10 months since the Alberta Floods devastated the province. Despite the destruction there emerged a sense of community and the spirit of volunteering.
The floods united the people, because they had a common problem and a common goal. Strangers became friends and they helped however they could. It only takes small acts of kindness from a lot of people to make a large impact. That is the spirit of volunteering: lending your skills and resources for people in need. You volunteered, you weren’t voluntold.
Why do we volunteer? Because it’s a part of who we are as humans: to help those who we empathize with. Volunteering is a part of our DNA.
How is this important?
Volunteering strengthens the bonds in a community and helps create a brighter future.
I know that sounds cheesy, but imagine for a second if no one helped out during the floods. If we all stood idly while people need to be evacuated, while people needed a warm shelter, while people were facing tough times. We would have never recovered the way we did and people would still be suffering.
Volunteering eliminates the barriers between language, race, age and they connect individuals on a human level.
One of the awards given out was the Leaders of Tomorrow Award. It recognized the awesome volunteer work that youth in our society were doing. Don’t underestimate the impact of youth, because I believe they are not only the Leaders of Tomorrow, but also the Leaders of Today. Briefly, I want to recognize the recipients and congratulate them on their achievements:
Leaders of Tomorrow: Junior
Ryan Taylor (Our Lady Queen of Peace School)
“Volunteering is something important that needs to be done. You have kids sitting at home playing for 16 hours a day on their weekend, when they could take 1, 2 hours off that could help somebody. So they can have their one or two hours on their video games.” – Ryan Taylor
Leaders of Tomorrow: Senior
Nazifa Rahman (Crescent Heights High School)
“Youth Central is one of the things that’s changed my life. It’s given me so much confidence and so much passion for what I do. Sometimes I feel like it’s a responsibility to be helping out the community and I never realized it’s something worth recognizing.” – Nazifa Rahman
Well, I’m here to celebrate and recognize you and all the wonderful youth volunteers out there. Awesome job!
Why do we celebrate it?
Celebrating volunteering helps to highlight the good in people and inspires others to help as well.
Certainly after hearing each of the award recipients stories, I not only felt proud of them, but also encouraged to continue my volunteering.
Youth are a central part to a community, but it takes the collective contributions of businesses, adults and seniors that make Calgary a vibrant and loving community. I wish I could go over all of them in detail, but to view their videos and profiles, click on the names of the recipients and it’ll take you to a Propell:us video.
Volunteer Animal Award (This award recognizes an animal (and their human counterpart) that demonstrates the spirit of volunteerism through volunteer activities)
Fancy (pants) – Horse!!
Emerging Employee Volunteer Program (2-or-less years; Awarded to businesses that demonstrate success in developing and implementing an employee volunteer program)
Outstanding Employee Volunteer Program (2-or-more years; same as above)
Outstanding Volunteer Manager Award (This award recognizes a manager of volunteers who demonstrates excellence and innovation in the management and leadership of volunteers)
Volunteer Family Award (This award recognizes a family that demonstrates a shared passion for volunteering and has contributed time and skills towards the betterment of the community)
Trailblazer Award (This award recognizes an emerging, community minded leader; between the ages of 18 and 35, who ignites and inspires change in the community through volunteerism)
Silver Star Award (This award recognizes volunteers, ages 65 and above, who share their lifetime of experience and knowledge in support of the issues they care about to make a difference in our community)
Congratulations to all the recipients and nominees!
There’s one more special woman that I want to recognize though:
Amal Umar, recipient of the Heart of Calgary Award
For the past 30 years, Amal has been dedicated to improving Calgary through numerous roles in the non-profit sector. She has worked tirelessly for women who are immigrant to Canada or a visible minority.
She has been a founding member of organizations like: Calgary Immigrant Woman’s Society (CIWA), Calgary Foundation, Making Changes Employment Association, and so much more.
She is truly an amazing and humble individual who bring a lot of heart of Calgary.
For her full video, click here.
Mayor Nenshi was there to present the award to her in person. He called her an inspiration and I hope she is an inspiration for you, the reader, as well.
Celebrating all this volunteerism is great, but there will always be someone out there who needs your help.
Mayor Nenshi encourages the community to do 3 Things For Calgary. It’s your turn to give back! If each person can do 3 things, then encourage 1 of their close friends to do 3 things too – it becomes a ripple-effect.
I challenge you to celebrate and recognize someone in your schools, neighbourhoods, or communities. Tell them of the great work they’re doing! Ask them how you can help! Encourage them to celebrate and recognize someone else! These small acts of kindness can quickly have a large impact. Continue volunteering and doing great work Calgary!