A volunteer appreciation breakfast was held by the Ridge Meadows Seniors Society on Thursday.
Around 50 volunteers attended the “appreciation cafe”, which included a full buffet spread and a live harp performance.
This was one of three breakfasts at the seniors’ activity centres in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
Anita Bettesworth, events coordinator with the seniors society, noted there are about 160 active volunteers.
And, she said, the society loves throwing these kinds of events because it gives their volunteers who might not know one another an opportunity to mix and mingle.
“We’ve got people here who run our front desks, people who are our drivers, people who do our wellness clinics, people from both centres, activity leaders, and it’s just a chance for us to say thank you, relax, and let us pamper you for a little bit,” she said.
The idea of the cafe was inspired by the social meals program that is offered at the centre.
Every year the society puts on something different for their volunteers. One year they went to the movies, another year they brought in a musical band who performed songs through the decades, and another year the theme was magic.
The breakfast was to kick off National Volunteer Appreciation week running from April 19 to 25.
This year’s theme is Ignite Volunteerism – to celebrate ways in which people in Canada have ignited volunteerism in their communities.