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INUVIK
The Inuvik Heritage Festival was just one of the weekend events cancelled due to high costs and lack of volunteers. A fundraising steak dinner for the Inuvik Food Bank was also postponed due to lack of volunteers.

Torsten Diesel is the Inuvik Youth Centre co-ordinator. He says a core group of volunteers is necessary for program survival. - Danielle Sachs/NNSL photo

There are many groups to volunteer for in Inuvik, from sports to church groups and search and rescue operations. With a transient population, it can be hard to keep programs running when someone moves away or is transferred for work.

But organizations around town are saying in most cases, there isn't a shortage and time and time again, the community comes together with an outpouring of generosity.

Margaret Miller is a volunteer with the Inuvik Food Bank. She has also spent years volunteering with various causes around town, from Arctic Paws, to the Great Northern Arts Festival.

"I spent 10 years with the arts festival, I figured 10 years of my life was enough to give them and it was time for someone new," said Miller.

The food bank has returned to regular hours since the September break-in, and on its first day open, Oct. 17, they gave out a record 109 bags of food, said Miller.

"When volunteers showed up to open the doors, there was a lineup of people waiting. The shelves were half bare again when we closed," she said.

"We had to call Stanton's and get them to deliver an order they had been holding for us."

The generosity of Inuvik was also noted by Miller, who said she was astounded at the amount of food donated by residents during the food collection drive for the food bank.

"Inuvik's population is very generous in donating time, services and goods," she said.

The transient nature of Inuvik can be both a blessing and a curse for volunteering, said Alana Mero, town councillor.

"Part of it gets hard because if a person leaves, so does the program they were offering but if you're new in town, volunteering is a great way to meet people," said Mero.

People volunteer for the groups that interest them and with so many different groups in Inuvik there's almost no time to work, said Mero.

"Most people who volunteer don't expect a thank you," she said.

"If you're doing this for public adulation there are much easier ways to do it, but there's a heavy aspect of self-fulfilment like with (Civil Air Search and Rescue Association). We're lucky in this town to have so many people who give so much."

For some, volunteering can be a way of gaining valuable experience for the job market, said Mero.

"I've had jobs where I've been told, 'We hired you because with all this volunteer experience, we figured you were reliable,'" she said.

A large pool of volunteers is integral to some programs around town, said Torsten Diesel, co-ordinator at the Inuvik Youth Centre.

"Everyone has different experiences and with more volunteers, you can offer more activities for the kids," he said.

Diesel is responsible for scheduling volunteer hours for the three days the youth centre is open during the week.

"On an administration level, it's frustrating if I don't know who's going to be around. If I can't plan with a core idea, I have to reschedule everything," he said.

"The kids end up being served differently, one evening everything might go great, but the next they can't do all the exciting programs they're used to."

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