National Volunteer Week kicks off April 7 as a wonderful opportunity to celebrate just how much volunteers contribute to our community each and every day, all out of the kindness of their hearts.
Here at the Victoria Foundation, we鈥檙e truly blessed with the support and guidance of our volunteer committee and board members, along with our honorary governors. We can鈥檛 thank them enough.
In 2018, we released a report in partnership with the University of Victoria revealing that the civil society, or non-profit, sector contributes more than $6.8 billion to our local economy annually. And while that number is staggering, what鈥檚 just as amazing is that it doesn鈥檛 include the in-kind impact of volunteers, which I can tell you is enormous.
Victorians love to volunteer. We know this as fact, with Statistics sa国际传媒 reporting nearly 63聽per cent of people in our region age 15 years and older participate in some form of volunteer work. This is a substantially higher rate than both provincially (49 per cent) and nationally (44 per cent).
This is something worth celebrating, and it makes me swell with pride to know I live and work in a community where residents have such a strong need to give back and help improve their community.
But I also worry about how sustainable these numbers are, knowing that when it comes to young people volunteering, there are challenges.
Results from our most recent Vital Signs survey show people age 30 and under were less likely to have volunteered at least once a month compared with those over 45, at 29 per cent versus 40聽per cent, respectively. I don鈥檛 believe for a second this is because young people aren鈥檛 interested in pitching in, but rather because perhaps they aren鈥檛 aware of the opportunities, don鈥檛 know how to get started or are already too busy just trying to make ends meet.
I鈥檓 interested in learning more about this trend, which is why I鈥檓 delighted the Victoria Foundation is hosting a Vital Conversation event around this very topic. Youth Volunteerism: Barriers and Breakthroughs, takes place April 8 at Camosun College, bringing together young leaders to celebrate youth in our region, age 15 to 29, engaged in diverse forms of community volunteerism, advocacy and activism. They will also be taking a hard look at the challenges and barriers to such work.
I encourage everyone, and especially our youth, to attend this free event to be inspired to get involved, have your voice heard and help make our community a better place for all. Please visit victoriafoundation.ca for more information and to register.
And happy National Volunteer Week to all.
Sandra Richardson is CEO of the Victoria Foundation.
