A
special presentation will be held on Wednesday, March 21 at the
Centennial Arena at 7 p.m. This is a session that should be attended by
the hundreds of volunteers who have devoted countless hours to building
up the community spirit of Valley East.
The
Mayor’s Task Force on Community Involvement and Voluntarism will be
holding a total of eight such meetings around the region that week.
Louise Portelance, Councillor for Ward 3, and Georges Boudreau,
committee member, will be facilitating the public meeting.
The
mandate of the task force is two-fold:
1.
To ensure that the volunteer activities supported in the past continue
to receive the support of the new City and its people;
2.
To examine the new community participation and involvement models that
are in existence today in the world and that the group believes would be
useful for this community to investigate, examine, debate and recommend.
The
task force outcomes will be:
1.
To increase public participation in the decision making process;
2. To support and strengthen the network of volunteers;
3. To identify a set of community values;
4. To create a citizen bill of rights;
5. To develop a set of performance indicators;
6. To formulate an implementation strategy;
7. To create a Councillor’s toolbox of techniques for public
participation.
Since
2001 is the International Year of The Volunteer, it is appropriate that
the Council of the City of Greater Sudbury has taken on this
project. Volunteers have been the backbone of our community since the
beginning of time, and as we head into an uncertain future, their
efforts will be needed more than ever before.
According
to Louise Portelance, “This will be mostly a listening session for us.
We want to hear what the volunteers have to say and take their ideas and
concerns into consideration when we report on the task force.”
If
you are interested in community building and in maintaining the spirit
of Valley East, make sure you attend the Public Session at the
Centennial Arena on Wednesday, March 21 at 7 p.m. Your opinion is
important. Listen to what the task force has to say and make sure they
clearly understand your vision for the future.