During National Volunteer Week, Canadians are recognizing the invaluable contributions of volunteers. In Estevan, volunteers put countless hours into running organizations, events, and sports leagues for the community to enjoy. 
 
"National Volunteer Week is a time to recognize the incredible contributions that more than 330,000 volunteers in communities across Saskatchewan make to our quality of life," Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Laura Ross in a recent release. "Saskatchewan is well-known across the nation for our volunteer ethic, as almost one out of every three Saskatchewan residents volunteer in some way."  

Tony Sernick, President of the Estevan Oilfield Technical Society and member of the Estevan Strippers, has experienced the power of volunteering firsthand.  

“There are so many organizations out there and probably 99 per cent of them are volunteer based, you know from, the Estevan Bruins, right down to the Souris Valley Theatre, even the Estevan Humane Society,” said Sernick.  

The Strippers Hockey tournament, which required a lot of volunteers to help execute the 4-day event was given as a recent example. Those types of events require set-up, tear down, ticket sales, bartending and more to run a successful event in addition to the volunteers who put countless hours into organizing the event.  

He noted that volunteering gives people the chance to check out different organizations and they aren’t limited to one single role.  

“Simply, it gives people something to do and gets people interacting with each other. There’s no doubt about it, and that’s what it’s all about.”