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Quesnel non-profit showcase highlights city's organizations

The showcase ran throughout the morning on Oct. 19

The Quesnel Legion was filled with some of the organizations that save lives, advocate for groups, support the arts and make Quesnel a better place as they shared what they to connect with the community.

Joleen Morrison, who spearheaded the event, said she hit her goal of people coming through early into the day. She had a list of questions for attendees about what they want to see from a Quesnel-based non-profit website, what barriers are to volunteering and how to get past those barriers.

"It's important to build a community. It's important to keep services going that are helping people that need it," Morrison said. "You don't realize how important it is until you go to use the service or you go looking for the service and it's not there." She said she hopes events like the showcase will continue to grow in Quesnel and throughout the region to bolster the number of volunteers and amount of support important organizations need.

Nourish Food Bank was at the showcase, the food bank works to feed people who are struggling to afford food. Sandra Davis with Nourish said the event is an excellent idea and will help people who might not know where to start find volunteer opportunities.

"It does something to you, it changes you, it makes you more aware of what's going on in your community. You just feel good," Davis said about the importance of volunteering. "Some of our volunteers have had to access the food bank in the past and this way they're able to give back in some way."

Davis said Nourish has over 700 households registered for the food bank, making it vital to supporting people in the community. She said one of the best initiatives Nourish is doing is a seniors hamper program, which has around 70 seniors on the list who wouldn't have otherwise registered for the food bank. She said it can be difficult for some seniors to ask for help and the program is important to helping ensure they get the food they need.

The Quesnel Volunteer Fire Department was another organization with a table set up at the showcase. Fire Chief Ron Richert said the fire department is always looking to boost its numbers.

"We don't do a lot of events because there's really not a lot of events for us to go," Richert said. "I appreciate the opportunity for sure, this is wonderful."

He said being a volunteer firefighter is an exciting opportunity to serve the community and it's very rewarding. He added that it's a great way for people to get their foot in the door for careers as first responders.

The fire department's training officer Bart Schneider said the education volunteers get is a huge reason for folks to sign up.

"Education of what happens in emergency services and (the) capabilities you get from joining this organization that you can take into the rest of your life and into another career path," he said is a huge benefit on top of helping the community.

Another organization was the Billy Barker Days Society, represented by Cindy Tousignant and her husband Clovis.

"We're looking for people that will show up and help us plan the event and also bring in new ideas that the community would like and enjoy," Cindy said. They have some opportunities to go to events to gain volunteers like the Trade Fair in spring. She said they're always looking for more people to help set up the event, organize the parade and more. "We're always trying to find ways that we can help out with the community and get the community to be invested with us as well."

She said events like the non-profit showcase are important to show the community all of the groups that work to help make Quesnel a better place to be.

One group that couldn't be at the event was FARMED, which Morrison is involved with.

"FARMED, that I started volunteering with when I came to town because I love agriculture, couldn't come today because of lack of volunteers," Morrison said. "So that's ironic," she joked.

She said she hopes events like the showcase grow and help more people connect with groups that improve the community.



Austin Kelly

About the Author: Austin Kelly

Born and raised in Surrey, I'm excited to have the opportunity to start my journalism career in Quesnel.
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