National Volunteer Week 2025 runs April 27 to May 3 and this year’s theme is Volunteers Make Waves. St. Albert has always been blessed with numerous volunteers ready to lend a hand.
Together these many hands have reached out to help others and in doing so created ripples of change that attest to the power and impact of a collective.
Volunteers have an immeasurable impact. They give their time, their talents and their hearts to helping others. They are the backbone of all communities.
National Volunteer Week is an opportunity to thank and acknowledge them, either individually or as a group, and recognize how they inspire people to join the wave of positive change.
Ironically, the majority of generous volunteers would probably shrug off a “thank you” and say volunteering is part of their DNA. These friendly folk can be found in every corner of St. Albert starting with sports groups, art galleries and nature clubs.
Some serve a few hours weekly at the SHAVA (Sturgeon Hospital Auxiliary Volunteer Association) Book Store. Others greet visitors at reception desks, and many provide escorted transportation for infirm individuals and seniors to attend medical appointments.
The St. Albert Food Bank is always looking for people to assemble food hampers, sort and stack groceries and bag deliveries. While the St. Albert Food Bank keeps bellies full, St. Albert Botanic Park volunteers create a serene landscape of infinite beauty digging, watering and weeding.
Volunteers at St. Albert Seniors Association support the Meals on Wheels program, maintain gardens, host barbecues, assist with administration, manage the gift shop and prepare cafeteria lunches.
Big Brothers, Big Sisters St. Albert provides mentorship for local youth needing one-on-one support while the St. Albert Family Resource Centre has more than 200 actively involved volunteers providing services and leadership in a variety of positions.
Over at LoSeCa Foundation’s I’m Unique Thrift Store, created to support persons with disabilities, volunteers sort through donations, stock shelves, hang clothes on racks and sell merchandise.
Depending on a person’s interests, availability and skills, guidance is always provided. Some may prefer outdoor hands-on work. Others are most happy making phone calls or providing personal home visits.
Within the upcoming spring and months, St. Albert will host four major events. If a person has limited time and is unable to volunteer on an ongoing basis, these four festivals would be happy to have an extra body for a few hours.
Leading the pack is Rainmaker Festival on May 23 to 25 complete with a parade, two music concerts, a rodeo, fairgrounds and a marketplace. Crammed into three days, this urban cowboy fest is one of St. Albert’s biggest events, attracting large crowds of all ages.
The International Children’s Festival of the Arts follows one week later from May 29 to June 1. To manage the crowds, the festival is looking for 350 individuals to fill shifts in various positions. Organizers have put out a call for youth ambassadors, ushers, a green team, hospitality, volunteer registration and activity assistants.
Leaning into summer, Rock’N August, the region’s premiere car show, takes place Aug. 5 to 9. Volunteer opportunities include general information assistant, button sellers, 50/50 ticket sellers, information tent assistants, event parkers and lottery ticket sales.
St. Albert Latin Festival closes the summer on Aug. 16 at St. Albert Lions Park. This music festival brings together the top-tier Latin musicians and singers, both home-grown and from Central and South America. The non-stop festival runs from about noon to 9 p.m. and a variety of volunteers are required to help run the event.
St. Albert is a caring community. If you are recently retired, working part-time, new to the area or just looking to get more involved, the doors of volunteerism are wide open. What you do matters.
