Letter
to the editor
Volunteers
make a difference
Every
year during National Volunteer Week, we have a golden opportunity to show
our appreciation to volunteers for their commitment and service. Thousands
of dedicated individuals across Ontario give freely of their time and
energy to community organizations.
As
Acting Chair of the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), one of Canada's
leading grantmaking foundations, I feel strongly about the importance of
volunteers. The Foundation's Board of Directors and our 16 Grant Review
Teams - more than 330 people in total - show remarkable dedication to
serving their communities across the province. Whether we realize it
or not, we all benefit from the important work they do in a wide range of
organizations. Their involvement in their communities helps to change
lives.
Volunteer
time is unpaid time, and that makes it especially valuable. I wish to
recognize the OTF Grant Review Team in Toronto for their unflagging
commitment, under the energetic leadership of Grant Review Team Chair
Bahadur Madhani.
There
are many volunteers giving their time and talents to their community. Last
year, in the Toronto area alone, close to 15,500 volunteers contributed
more than half a million hours of their time to support organizations that
received funding from our Foundation. If we translate their efforts into
monetary value, it comes to almost $ 8.6 million of giving!
All
of us are touched and enriched by these efforts, whether we volunteer
ourselves or benefit in some way from the volunteer work of others. So
take a moment during National Volunteer Week, April 10 to 16, to thank
volunteers for generously donating their time, talents and passion to
countless causes across the province. Thanks to their commitment, our
communities and our province are better places to live. Find out
more at www.trilliumfoundation.org
Sincerely,
Janet
Passmore
Acting Chair, Ontario Trillium Foundation
