In an effort to promote and celebrate the International Year of the Volunteer, the Fort Frances Volunteer Bureau is holding a series of contests on what volunteering means.
“This year has been named as the International Year of the Volunteer by the United Nations,” noted executive director Joan Pearson, who created and organized the contest.
“To commemorate this, we decided to have a contest to get people to think about what being a volunteer means, and what it specifically means to them.
“This will be the first one we will hold but I am planning on having a number of contests throughout the year,” she added.
The contest is open to five different age groups and people can enter in one of four different categories.
“The contest is open to people of all ages,” stressed Pearson. “The contest can be entered by people in the following age groups: 7-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21 and up, and seniors 55+.
“The contest is really open to anyone who wants to enter and has something to say about volunteering.”
To enter the contest, people must think about what volunteering means to them and then submit either a poem, photo, story, or picture that represents that meaning.
“We are really hoping people will drop things off soon,” Pearson admitted. “I have not had the response I would have liked but I am hopeful things will turn around and people will begin to submit.
“With volunteering being such a big thing in the community, I would think many people would have a story about it that they could share,” she added.
“Perhaps it is a story of how a volunteer helped them, or maybe why they like to volunteer their time to a specific cause. We basically just want something that reflects what volunteering means to them specifically.”
The deadline for submissions to this first contest is next Monday (April 23) although Pearson is willing to accept entries up until April 24.
“What I am hoping to do is display the entries at our Volunteer Bureau appreciation dinner on [April 25],” Pearson said. “I basically came up with the idea for the contest because I thought it would be fun to see what people think about when they think of volunteers.”
Those interested can mail their entries to the Fort Frances Volunteer Bureau, 140 Fourth St. W., Suite 1 Fort Frances, Ont., P9A 3B8.
For more info, contact Pearson at the Volunteer Bureau (274-9555).
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
