At your CSCNL, we are excited to again partner with Volunteer Canada in celebrating National Volunteer Week 2025 from April 27th to May 3rd! This week is set aside each year to recognize and thank volunteers for the time and energy they contribute to causes that benefit our communities.

This year’s theme, “Volunteers Make Waves,” is a poignant reminder of how our actions can spur a movement and create profound impact on our communities. Every hour of volunteering, every gift of time, does not just create a single ripple: our collective impact creates a wave of positive change.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, we are known globally for our deep sense of place, strong ties to our community and how the tides shape our lives. And so appropriate to our connection with the sea, building on the tides sent out before us, waves swell with each generation of volunteers.

Throughout our province, over 210,000 individuals engage in formal volunteering for an average of 161 hours per year – or the highest in the country. They support thousands of charities, non-profits, community groups and municipalities through an estimated 33 million hours each year. They are on the frontlines of a breadth of essential services like fire protection, disaster relief, caregiving, education, food security, poverty reduction…and also in leadership roles on boards of directors, councils, advisory committees, crown corporations… there is no end to what our volunteers do for our communities.

Our volunteers search for hikers who are lost among our jagged coasts and they also advocate for children we simply cannot lose through the cracks.

Our volunteers provide counselling to people in need of support and they also support their communities by standing for town council.

Our volunteers stock and restock our food bank shelves and they also analyze and re-analyze ecological databanks to inform preservation efforts.

Our volunteers coach our local basketball team with winning plays and they also coach our executive directors on building a team to execute a winning strategic playbook.

Our volunteers are invaluable, irreplaceable and constantly in-demand. Now, it is more important than ever to acknowledge their contributions, celebrate their impact and appreciate their efforts. This volunteer week, find a volunteer, thank them and let’s create our own wave of gratitude across our dear province. Let’s make some waves!