This year marks the 50th anniversary of National Volunteer Week and the 23rd anniversary of Strong Start. As we celebrate this year’s theme, Every Moment Matters, we reflect on the incredible gift of time our volunteers have provided. For our Volunteers working directly with children, a warm smile, word of encouragement, or high-five celebration of a new letter learned, truly are the moments that matter.
Each year, Strong Start relies on the gifts of time by thousands of caring individuals who go above and beyond to help children learn to read. Whether they are working one-on-one with children in local schools, helping small groups of children in community centres, or assembling program materials at the National Program Deployment Centre, we could not do what we do without their support. We truly are better together!
Over the last 23 years, nearly 40,000 volunteers have given over 634,908 hours of volunteer time to help 56,171 children learn to read. It is a true partnership.
We invite you to join us on social media to celebrate and applaud our amazing Strong Start volunteers using the hashtags #NVW2024 and #EveryMomentMatters. We also invite you to read stories from other volunteers, families, and our program partners on our website.
Do you have an experience you would like to share? Send us an e-mail at info@strongstart.ca. We would love to hear from you.
With a heartfelt and sincere thank you,
The Strong Start Team