Last week was National Volunteer Week in Canada, and I think it’s important to consider the merit in sharing our time and talents with others.

Imagine what our cities and towns would be like without volunteers. Our arenas, soccer fields and ball diamonds would be empty because there are no coaches. Our non-existent sports teams wouldn’t travel because there are no parents baking cookies to raise money. Local firefighters wouldn’t come to the rescue when an emergency occurs. Our hospitals would be places of grim business because there are no volunteers to read books to patients, and no clowns to visit the children.

Emergency staff would be overworked and the public coffers depleted because more employees would be needed to push wheelchairs and direct traffic and run the gift shop. If there is a gift shop at all.

Fortunately, our world is not nearly so bleak, and we have volunteers to thank for it. Many Canadians share the spirit of volunteerism and many of us benefit in some form by volunteering ourselves. According to the Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating, close to 12.5 million Canadians volunteer their time to charitable and not-for-profit organizations. They contribute over two billion hours, which is the astonishing equivalent of more than one million full-time jobs.

Our government is particularly aware of the valuable contribution made by Canada’s seniors. The 2010 Jobs and Growth Budget provides $10 million over two years for the New Horizons for Seniors Program to promote the ongoing growth of volunteering among seniors. Seniors can use the program to both benefit from, and contribute to, the quality of life in their communities through active living and participation.

The enhanced funding will support, in part, projects that focus on volunteering among seniors and ensure that today’s seniors can mentor the next generation of volunteers by passing along their valuable skills. This government initiative encourages Canadians to contribute their time, talents and energy to make their communities and their country a better place to live.

Our lives would be much different if we suddenly had to do without our coaches, scout leaders, 4-H Club organizers, candy-stripers, talking book readers and bridge club hosts. Society as we know it would endure a black hole where our hopes and dreams would wither. Instead, we have volunteers who make day-to-day living worthwhile -- they are an essential ingredient of modern society.

If you are a volunteer, thank you. If you’re not a volunteer yet, why not try it – it could change your life, too.

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