Celebrating National Volunteer Week in the Nicola Valley

MERRITT – This week, April 16-22, is National Volunteer Week.

“Without volunteers you simply don’t exist,” said Mayor Mike Goetz. “They are super important.”

When it comes to volunteers, a wide variety of organizations rely on them in Merritt, and Mayor Goetz has first hand experience on how rewarding volunteer work can be.

“We volunteer for Emergency Support Service (ESS), my wife and I, and its fulfilling. Without volunteers, a lot of your systems don’t work.

It doesn’t matter if they are long-term volunteers or someone helping out one time, organizations in the community have expressed their gratification.

“We’ve got some really dedicated volunteers, some who come in just for events or for one offs and some that are in it for the long haul, and quite a few of our volunteers are very committed and spend a lot of time,” said Jano Howarth, Gallery Curator with the Nicola Valley Arts Council.

Other organizations that rely on volunteers include, the Merritt Centennials, the Nicola Valley Food Bank, the Country Christmas committee, Community Futures Nicola Valley, among a lot others.