It’s a real shame that more people didn’t come out to attend the Osoyoos Volunteer Fair on April 19 at the Sonora Community Centre.
People who already give up so much of their personal time to give something extra to the community gave even more by sacrificing their afternoons on a beautiful sunny day to showcase the organizations which give Osoyoos its heart and spirit.
A great deal of time and effort was put in to helping local volunteer efforts attract new members and explain what they do, especially on the part of Joanne Muirhead, a coordinator for the South Okanagan Similkameen Volunteer Centre who almost single-handedly organized the fair.
And for only about 60 people to attend the fair, many of whom are already involved in volunteer-based or non-profit groups, seems like a slight on the part of the greater community.
So many of us take advantage of the services these organizations provide.
Whether it be attending some of Osoyoos’s premier events, such as the Easter Eggstravaganza or Cherry Fiesta, or taking advantage of the Osoyoos Food Bank or skating at the Sun Bowl Arena, we all benefit from organizations and people who don’t get paid for helping make our town a better place.
The Osoyoos Times recently asked what this community would look like without our volunteers and it isn’t difficult to argue that this place would be dull and depressing without them.
Many of us complain about certain problems our community faces.
Those who are part of our volunteer organizations are actually doing something about these problems and they deserve our respect.
Giving up a few minutes to get to know the people and groups who form the character of Osoyoos isn’t much to ask.
So kudos to the people who did make the effort to attend the fair and kudos to the representatives of the 22 organizations that took the time to be part of the fair.
And a big thank you to those who made the fair a reality.
We are all in your debt and learning about your organizations and hearing what you have to say is worth sacrificing part of a sunny afternoon or missing a few minutes of a hockey game.
