“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” ~Audrey Hepburn
November 21st marked HSCA’s annual Volunteer Appreciation Event and this year’s theme was ‘Volunteers Grow our Community’. The event was an opportunity to bring our volunteer community together and celebrate this sentiment by acknowledging the hard work and passion they’ve shown throughout the year.
![You GROW girl! Heather & Sarah strike a pose at the Volunteer Appreciation Photobooth, 2019 [Photo by Dexter Martin]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/588e65d737c5818a6a061678/1576168120443-NRUGCODXFRQ47GMN0523/Volunteer+photo+5.jpeg)
You GROW girl! Heather & Sarah strike a pose at the Volunteer Appreciation Photobooth, 2019 [Photo by Dexter Martin]
With the help and generous donation from Jungle Plant Project, our volunteers were encouraged to interact with a fun, plant-themed Photobooth. The evening also featured a talented photographer, Dexter Martin, who generously volunteered to cover the Photobooth and capture some of the evening’s activities. [Be sure to watch for our next featured blog posts on Jungle Plant Project and Dexter Martin Photography & Design, highlighting their thoughts on community, favourite part of the event, and more!] Our (super delicious) meal was catered by Christine Kyte and her team at Reflective Catering. We also had a ton of raffle prizes generously donated from some great local businesses in our community, including:
Greetings from the Future! A look at some of the postcards done by attendees.
This year, our activity was called, ‘Greeting from the Future’ and we asked attendees to think ahead into the future. Volunteers were given blank postcards and encouraged to write a note or draw a photo showcasing their vision for Hillhurst Sunnyside—ten years from now. We’re so excited to display these visioning postcards at HSCA in the new year, so stay tuned!
This year alone, HSCA volunteers contributed over 2000 hours—hours which have played an important role in ensuring our community continues to grow and flourish. Each hour volunteered showcases the commitment and dedication residents have to their Hillhurst Sunnyside community. Whether it’s volunteering your time with HSCA’s senior support network, spending an afternoon cooking for Neighbour Night, packing groceries for Fresh Food Basket, participating in community clean up events, or part of a committee: you are the anchor of our community. And just as a plant requires a root system to nourish and grow, our team of volunteers' function in a similar way: they grow our community. If you are interested in volunteering with HSCA, please see current opportunities listed here.
By Stephanie Corbett
Kate Stenson, Executive Director of HSCA, was the evening’s MC and gives thanks to our volunteer community.