April 24-30 is National Volunteer Week! We recently celebrated CNH’s volunteers through a virtual Volunteer Appreciation Event to thank them for their dedication and generosity to the community.
With this year’s theme being “Volunteering is Empathy in Action,” Collingwood Neighbourhood House’s volunteers have shown this in droves by supporting our programs and services. As CNH continued to deal with the impact of the pandemic, the organization relied on the assistance of up to 900 volunteers.
Here are some stories from our staff—and the volunteers themselves—on how they took the extra mile to bring heart to the community.
From Jenny Shen, Seniors Wellness Program Coordinator:
Alice Crestejo is the host of the seniors Sing for Fun program. She jumped into the volunteer position with the CNH Seniors Team to start a brand new online/virtual singing program after in-person singalong became impossible two years ago, and then committed to the bi-weekly Zoom program enthusiastically and never stopped. As a senior herself, Alice took a lot of effort to overcome barriers like the lack of computer skills, with support from the CNH Seniors Team. She shared her singing talents with seniors and brought tremendous fun and happiness to those who were homebound and isolated during the pandemic. When word spread, not only seniors from local communities came to join the online program, but also seniors from the lower mainland, and even from other cities like Toronto. Those long-time-no-see friends, neighbours, and family members never felt so close to each other to sing, laugh, and celebrate together with Alice.