W hen I first moved to Ladysmith at the very end of November, one of the first things most people told me was something along the lines of: “You’ll love it here. This is such a great community, the people are great, and there are so many volunteers.”
They were right. I’ve already seen that in so many ways, from the people who offer their time during specific events and activities to the hard-working people who give so much of themselves as part of various committees, groups and organizations day in and day out — attending meetings and putting on events before or after a busy day of work and caring for their families.
There’s clearly no better place than Ladysmith and Chemainus to celebrate National Volunteer Week.
Held in April every year, National Volunteer Week is like one giant thank you card stretching from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland and Labrador and from Nunavut to Lake Erie, paying tribute to the 13.3 million people across Canada who volunteer and help create positive change in their communities by donating their time, their energy and their skills to the people and causes they believe in. According to Volunteer Canada, these millions of volunteers give more than 2.1 billion hours at home and abroad.
A huge thank you and congratulations to all the volunteers young and old in our own backyard— whether you give a little or a lot, you truly are the heartbeat of our community. We pride ourselves on our community events and traditions like the Festival of Lights, Ladysmith Days and so many others and on our community spirit, and we know none of that would be possible without volunteers who give so much and expect nothing in return.
— Lindsay Chung