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The annual Volunteer Fair is a large scale event organized by the ASSIST Community Services Centre together with the Community Services Department of the City of
Edmonton. The purpose of holding this event is to promote the spirit of volunteerism in
Edmonton’s Chinese community, provide information about volunteering opportunities to the city’s residents and recruit volunteers for mainstream and Chinese community organizations.
This year’s Volunteer Fair was held at City Hall on Saturday the 30th of August and was a complete success! Twenty-six non-profit organizations participated in the event that day. We were honored to be able to invite the Mayor of Edmonton, Mr. Stephen Mandel, Volunteer Coordinator of Edmonton Police Service, Mr. Lawrence Jansen, and Director of the ASSIST Community Services Centre, Mr. Wing Choy to be our Masters of Ceremony. We were also able to invite the President of the Board of Directors of the ASSIST Community Services Centre, Mr. Allan Mah, Manager of Chinese Programs for World FM 101.7, Ms. Cecilia Lai, Chief Editor of Edmonton Chinese News, Mr. Joseph Lo, and Manager of the Advertisement Department of Edmonton Chinese News, Mrs. Ann Bang to be our honored guests. All guests entered the hall area of City Hall after the lion dance which was followed by various brilliant performances such as dances by the students of
Caernarvon
Elementary School and the Gracious Dance Club, singing by the group of Jay Fung, Cathy Hoang and Joey Hoang, and demonstrations by Twister Tai Kwon Do, as well as the lucky draw. We also had a Volunteers’ Corner to help participants gain insight into the real meaning behind volunteering! The atmosphere within the hall was lively and harmonious and all participants enjoyed themselves. Of course the greatest contributions came from those helping behind the scene, including members of the organizing committee and all volunteers! Both before and after the event, volunteers offered their time and ideas without reserve. The hosting organizations of Volunteer Fair 2008, the ASSIST Community Services Centre and the Community Services Department of the City of
Edmonton, would like to thank all those involved. We hope that we can cooperate again next year to promote the spirit of volunteerism!
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