Articles of the Month

Volunteering and Participating

I am very encouraged by the fact that 64% of young people do volunteer work. Volunteering is an excellent way to help all members of the community, whether they are young people, adults or seniors. Volunteer service can be provided in many different ways: visiting the elderly, or people who are ill or have disabilities; providing assistance to young parents or single-parent families; or by organizing various children's activities.

For the past several years, I have been sharing my love of sports, particularly baseball, by volunteering as a coach with children's baseball. I help the children learn how to play baseball and improve their skills I also teach them the importance of having fun whether they win or lose. The children enjoy my coaching and many of them ask to be on my team. I also volunteered my time to help make the 2002 Quebec Baseball Championships a success even though my team was not participating.

I am proud of my work in the community. By keeping the youth busy with sports activities they are less likely to become involved with vandalism, theft, smoking or drugs. This is a benefit to the whole community.

My work as a volunteer makes me feel truly part of the community.