Photo of BMO holding fundraising bake sale for Swift Current United Way to help fund local non-profit agencies.

A number of organizations are in search of volunteers, right in time for Volunteer Appreciation Week.

"From United Way's stand point, we work with a lot of non-profits in our community so we see the need for volunteers within their organizations," said Executive Director for Swift Current United Way, Stacey Schwartz. "United Way also has a program, Day of Caring, where we recruit volunteers to go and help out the agencies. Last year we had I believe eight different businesses, and it was a huge success. Just having people come out and take the time off to spend a couple hours helping these non-profits out, that in itself speaks huge volumes. It's the act of volunteering that really counts. We encourage people to really get out and find out what they're interested in."

Schwartz adds while most businesses send employees to volunteer their time, she has seen an increase in individuals contacting United Way directly to volunteer.

"For example, one person cared about youth, they cared about that portion of the vulnerable sector, and they wanted to get involved but they didn't know where to go. We had a situation like that where we were able to direct them to one of the non-profits that we knew had some volunteer opportunities and got them involved directly with it," she explained. "I'm a firm believer in volunteering. I think the acts of kindness can speak more than even one-on-one contact, and I think for people to go there and meet some of the clients, that has more of a long term effect than sometimes somebody just sending a cheque and never getting to meet or see inside those non-profits and the work they do."

Currently, the Lyric Theatre is looking for volunteers to assist with bartending, cashiers, and ushers for the upcoming play "Cypress Hills Would Never Be the Same", and the SaskPower Windscape Kite Festival has a number of positions to fill for that event on June 20th and 21st. The United Way's Day of Caring will be running the week of May 25th to 29th.

Today, the Cypress Health Region will be hosting a Volunteer Appreciation Tea where approximately 125 to 150 volunteers are expected to be in attendance at Walker Place beginning at 2pm.