The Power of Giving

Celebrating National Volunteer Week 2021 – The Best Gift is You

Building the foundations of a strong community requires people and purpose. Its strength lies with those who strive to achieve a common goal, and Hull Services has been fortunate to have such amazing volunteers who have come and made such a difference in the healing journey of the children, youth, and families we serve.

Marisa Pilgrim, who has been an avid Hull GIV volunteer since 2019, has coordinated multiple projects for her organization, Aramark, to participate in where staff can personally learn and grow while helping others. Moreover, charities like Hull resonate with Pilgrim on a profoundly personal level; she knows what it is like not to have much to call her own.

“I believe that each child deserves as equal an opportunity as their peers to grow and learn.” – Pilgrim

“Being able to give to someone else is a blessing to me,” said Pilgrim, “I’m glad I’m able to give someone else hope in themselves and others in this way. Brightening someone’s day, especially a child or teenager that is having a hard time or going through a hard time, is enough to brighten my own day.”

Group Involved Volunteering (GIV) is a great way to volunteer with a group of people to support Hull Services with various projects. It can be a great bonding experience for a team while at the same time providing Hull Services with much-needed help to complete various projects.

Pilgrim has engaged in a number of ways, from facilitating a fun field day for one of our community-based programs to gathering gifts and fundraising for our Happy Hullidays Christmas campaign. The opportunities for projects that an organization can do for GIV to Hull are countless and limited only by people’s imaginations. The projects can be as simple as painting to landscaping– there are many ways an organization can GIV with Hull.

When you volunteer at Hull, you are telling our vulnerable children, youth, and families that they matter and that their future can be so much brighter than their past.

“I believe in the saying ‘children are the future,’ and it’s the most vulnerable ones that really need our help,” said Pilgrim. “I believe that each child deserves as equal an opportunity as their peers to grow and learn, and volunteering with Hull is one way I can do my small part in trying to make that happen.”

If you are interested in volunteering with Hull Services, contact Debbie Wheeler at 403-835-1553 or dwheeler@hullservices.ca.