Games volunteer centre opens at Pen Centre
The success of next summer’s Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games will be largely dependent on the 4,500 volunteers recruited to help stage the mammoth event.
The first major step in the recruitment of those volunteers for the Aug. 6-21 event occurred Thursday with a ribbon cutting and grand opening of the Meridian Volunteer Centre, across from Winners at the Pen Centre.
The location will be used to engage, recruit and train volunteers, while also serving as a welcome centre for local residents from Niagara to inquire about the 2022 Canada Summer Games.
“It is a very exciting day as we are here to celebrate the opening of the Meridian Volunteer Centre,” said Carol Phillips, the chair of volunteer services for the Games. “For me, it means that the doors are open, the welcome mat is out and we are looking forward to welcoming residents of the Niagara region who are seeking out opportunities to be engaged in the Summer Games.”
More than 350 planning volunteers have already joined in Niagara 2022’s Meridian Volunteer Program and the remaining 4,150 or so volunteer positions will start to be filled Oct. 25 when the Games volunteer registration portal opens and begins accepting online applications online for a multitude of positions, including sport operations, transportation, ticketing, food service and media relations.
Phillips is confident the required amount of volunteers will be recruited.
“The volunteer portal won’t be open until the end of October but we have a number of people who have registered for the newsletter and I think those numbers are in the thousands as well,” she said.
Registering is the first step in the process.
“You will be asked a whole bunch of questions about availability, interests, skills and how you want to get involved,” Phillips said. “From there, there will be training and orientation. We will want to engage you right away and make sure you stay interested in the Games.”
Swag for the volunteers will include T-shirt, hat, lightweight jacket, fanny pack or belt with a holder for a water bottle, and a water bottle.
The swag is just one part of the allure of volunteering for the Games.
“The Canada Games present a great opportunity to care about your community, about sport and about young people,” Phillips said. “If you are interested in any of those three elements, you will want to volunteer at the Games.”
Paul Hébert, who worked as a bilingual information resource officer at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alta., was on hand Thursday to offer his encouragement for volunteers.
“Being a volunteer at the Games allows a person to be truly involved in a very special, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity or as the motto says once and for all,” the Welland resident said. “Use your imagination in the areas that you can or would like to assist with.”
Volunteer opportunities are available prior and during the Games.
“This is a great way to meet new people from the local area and beyond,” Hébert said. “For secondary school students, it is an easy way to gather their volunteer hours plus involving interpersonal skills and other skills such as leadership, working as part of a team on a variety of tasks with many tight time deadlines.”
It is also a chance to meet future stars.
“You can also say that you saw when he or she was just a teenager, before they made it big in the pros or the Olympics.”
Among the Canada Games alumni listed by Hébert were Sidney Crosby, Andre De Grasse and Eugenie Bouchard.
The first day of operation for the centre will be Friday and it will be open Wednesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Oct. 26 when the centre’s hours will be Tuesday through Saturday.
“We are excited to be taking this important step forward in our journey to host the Canada Games,” said Doug Hamilton, Board Chair of the Niagara Host Society. “Given the crucial role that our volunteers and community are going to have on the success of the Games, we are grateful and excited to have this centralized location at the Pen Centre to support the needs of our Meridian Volunteer Program and to connect with Niagara residents.”
Wade Stayzer, Meridian’s chief people and culture officer and senior vice-president of business banking, described the centre as the heartbeat of the Games.
“As a purpose-driven organization, our unifying role to recruit thousands of volunteers from across Niagara and helping to inspire the community to participate and give back is a natural fit,” he said. “We believe that healthy, resilient communities are built collectively, and everyone can make an important contribution.”
Since the first Canada Games first took place in Quebec City in 1967, more than 100,000 people have volunteered.
