Danny Barr (back), CASI van driver, shares a hug with Helen Dewitte (left) and Muriel Avery in downtown Osoyoos earlier this year. CASI is holding a volunteer drive this Saturday at the Seniors Centre in an effort to increase volunteer participation and awareness in Osoyoos. Photo supplied.
Everyone who has spent a significant amount of time in Osoyoos knows just how important volunteers are in this community.
From Coyotes games to parades to the spectacular fireworks display on Canada Day – behind every special event in Osoyoos you can usually find a small army of volunteers.
But where exactly can you go to volunteer for one of these tremendous occasions? And just who exactly can you volunteer with in this town?
Those are just a couple of the questions the Community Action for Seniors Independence (CASI) organization is hoping to answer during their first-ever volunteer drive this weekend.
“We’re inviting the community of Osoyoos to drop by and look at all the places interested in volunteers,” said Aja Jackson, volunteer program manager with CASI. “A lot of people love to volunteer, but they don’t know where to go and who needs help, so this is so we can showcase all the different service clubs and organizations in Osoyoos that are looking for volunteers.”
This is the first time CASI is holding this type of volunteer drive.
Jackson said they got the idea after a couple of people asked them where they could volunteer because they had no idea where to go.
“They weren’t aware of some organizations that were looking for volunteers and so we thought, why not invite everybody together and then the community can learn from each other about where to volunteer?” she said.
So far Jackson said about 10 organizations have signed up for the volunteer drive, including the Osoyoos Festival Society, the Osoyoos Museum and the Osoyoos Secondary/Elementary School Breakfast Program.
Jackson said she would like to get as many organizations on board as possible, so if anyone is interested in reserving a table (free of charge), they can contact Jackson or Stacy Little, program manager, by Friday at 250-495-6925.
CASI’s volunteer drive will take place this Saturday, Oct. 20 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Osoyoos Seniors Centre at 17 Park Place.
