This year has been dedicated to volunteers around the globe. Living in the City of Greater Sudbury has given us all an appreciation for volunteer work since statistics show that as many as 33% of all people living in this region volunteer for at least one charitable or non-profit organization.

To recognize the contributions of volunteers, the world will be celebrating such people for all they do to enhance the quality of life for those around them.

It has been estimated that, on average, volunteers each spend 147 hours for a total of 6.9 million hours a year in Sudbury alone. Across Canada there are more than 7.5 million volunteers generating a total of over one billion volunteer hours annually.

A number of special events will be organized during the year to honour volunteers. One of the biggest will be a special Family & Volunteer picnic to be held in June at Bell Park. A mural will also be painted at Tom Davies Square showing a past volunteer and a future volunteer. It is expected that most organizations which rely on volunteers will do something to show their gratitude during the course of the year as well.