“To enter or offer to enter into some service or undertaking of one’s free will.”
That is the Funk and Wagnalls, standard desk dictionary, meaning of the word ... volunteer.
Perhaps some of the top volunteers were those who took part in the armed conflicts of the First World War and the Second World War.
They stepped up to the plate when their country needed them and several of those who fought in the first conflict volunteered to go at it again, in the Second World War.
Many of those volunteers lost their lives in those battles, and the Royal Ca-nadian Legion in Williams Lake volunteers work hard to preserve the memory of those brave individuals.
The Cariboo Memorial Hospital Auxiliary ladies run the gift shop and have been raising funds for hospital equipment in Williams Lake since 1923, two years before the first hospital was established. There have been a lot of volunteers in that organization over 90 years.
It is difficult to only mention a few organizations in Williams Lake and area because there are so many that need volunteers to help them keep going to do their good work.
There were some folk who volunteered for the last Olympic games in Vancouver and some even donated their time at Sochi in Russia.
There are doctors and dentists in town who give of their time in countries where this kind of service is difficult to obtain.
Volunteers even get killed in their efforts to help ... those involved in search and rescue have had members die in the line of duty.
Some people do not have time to volunteer so they give money to these organizations.
There are some barriers in getting people to give of their time ... 38 per cent of people contacted in a government survey said they have not been contacted by anyone to volunteer.
So for those groups looking for more people to donate time, start making some phone calls. There are individuals who will come and help, they just have to be asked.
What would we do without volunteers, it would indeed be a sad society if so many people did not take the time to help others.
“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late,” said Ralph Waldo Emerson.
“When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die,” said Eleanor Roosevelt.
Take some time today to be a volunteer.
***
Happy Easter to everyone. On Easter Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ. It is typically the most well-attended Sunday service of the year for Christian churches.
Ken Wilson is a freelance columnist with the Tribune/Advisor.