The community of Morden gathered at the Suncatch Park for the "Get to Know Your Community" event where non-profit organizations were on hand to talk to community members with the goal of recruiting more volunteers and to inform and inspire people by the work they do.
Morden Activity Centre Manager Wendy Dyck organized last year's volunteer fair as a spin-off of the Morden Sports and Leisure Drive. This year, 500 Stephen Street and the City of Morden joined the organization team to put on this year's event.
"This event needed to be centered around the city. During an interagency meeting, we discussed the challenges with recruitment of volunteers for all agencies, but we needed help. Jenna Warkentine, the Executive Director from 500 Stephen St. offered to coordinate the event and we couldn't be happier. 'Getting to Know your Community' is not just about volunteer recruitment, it's about getting to know what your community offers and finding a way to be a part of it."
Heidi Teichrob moved to Morden from Winnipeg two months ago. She came to the event with a purpose.
"I came today because I had heard about all these organizations that were just going to set up booths to showcase the different needs in the community. I'm new to Morden, I just moved here a couple months ago, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to not only learn a little more about what the city has to offer but find ways to plug in because there's always a need and there's always a variety of ways of helping out. So, I just want to see if there's a way that I can plug in, even as a somewhat newcomer to this area. I'm from Winnipeg, so I'm familiar, obviously with Manitoba, but just a great opportunity to meet people who are passionate about different organizations."
500 Stephen Street Executive Director Jenna Warkentine and co-organizer of the event expressed her pleasure with what she liked most about the event.
"This. Seeing people just connecting, just being, mingling. I could sit at my table and just watch everybody and watch the organizations getting to talk about their passion and the community. Like right now, there is someone petting a dog, and someone getting food, and it's just fun to be around."
With the goal of connecting people to organizations and igniting a passion to get involved, Warkentine talked about volunteerism in Morden.
"Volunteering, I think it goes back to our main roots of just the small community feeling. It always starts with those small little events and helping out your neighbour and then you get to know each other. And volunteering doesn't have to be this big chore or this big hassle. It's just a a passion. It's a fun time. Often times at the centre, we have people come in and hang out with our volunteers. It's just easy, when you like what you do."
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