Jason Unrau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Oct 14/05) - Members of Volunteer NWT, an organization dedicated to stimulating the volunteer sector and helping groups find volunteers, met in Inuvik last weekend to tell people what their group was all about.

Volunteer NWT co-ordinator Aggie Brockman (right) with Ingamo Hall program co-ordinator Susan Ross at Ingamo Hall last Friday. Members of the Yellowknife-based organization were in town for a weekend of meetings. - Jason Unrau/NNSL photo

"The point was to let people involved in the volunteer sector know what we do," said Aggie Brockman, co-ordinator for the federally-funded initiative, based out of Yellowknife.

"I think the fact that you have the mayor here and your MLA to show that they recognize the significance of volunteers."

Developing information and resources, connecting volunteers with organizations and promoting funding opportunities for projects and training all fall under Volunteer NWT's mandate.

"In the last 10 years, there has been a big increase in attention paid to the volunteer sector as they contribute so much to the country's economy and to communities," said Brockman, explaining part of the reason why Volunteer NWT was formed two years ago.

According to her statistics, 50 per cent of NWT residents 15 years and older volunteer formally their time with a group or organization and 86 per cent of residents help out or volunteer informally.

"These people see a need and give some time," she said. "It could be shovelling a neighbour's sidewalk or grocery shopping for an elder."

While Friday's meet-and-greet at Ingamo Hall was not as well-attended as Brockman would have like, she did note that many volunteers were out helping with Delta Daze activities.

Susan Ross, program co-ordinator for Ingamo Hall, says that without volunteer help, many events at the hall would be impossible to run.

"We do have a lot of volunteers in Inuvik and we're trying to get some recognition for them," she said.

"We want to thank them for all the hard work they are doing."

Ross added that Ingamo Hall is planning to host a volunteer workshop early in 2006, to try and encourage more people to give their time and follow through with one of the Volunteer NWT mandates: connecting volunteers with organizations.