MULTIPLE BIRTHS CANADA/NAISSANCES MULTIPLES CANADA
PO Box 432, Wasaga Beach, ON L9Z 1A4
Toll free: (866) 228-8824

INFORMATION CIRCULAR
BO-04-18-05-#1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 18, 2005

MBC Volunteers Make a Difference – National Volunteer Week April 17-23, 2005

Wasaga Beach, ON: Multiple Births Canada (MBC) is pleased to provide ongoing updates to its members, chapters and colleagues. Your commitment to Supporting Multiple Births Together is of great importance to Canada’s multiple-birth community.

Chapter Representatives: Please forward the information below to your Chapter Executive and members.

Our Multiple Thanks to You!

It is National Volunteer Week, and Multiple Births Canada would like to thank you for all that you do to help further the mission of Multiple Births Canada – to improve the quality of life for multiple-birth individuals and their families in Canada! Every day, across Canada, there are hundreds of volunteers working tirelessly in their communities and with organizations to improve the quality of life for families with multiples. Whether you are a family support volunteer, an MBC Rep, a chapter executive member, an active fundraising volunteer, or if you simply lend an ear on occasion to a new mom, you are making a difference in the lives of others. MBC Volunteers are part of a large group of people who dedicate their time and energies to 161,000 charitable and nonprofit organizations in Canada that rely on volunteers to assist in furthering their missions.^[1]

Did you know?

Almost all charitable and nonprofit organizations rely on volunteers; more than half (54%) of these organizations rely exclusively on volunteers, as they have no paid staff.^[2]
The main reason Canadians volunteer their time is because they “believe in the cause they’re supporting.” Other motivations include using one’s skills and experiences (81%) and because someone was personally affected by the cause of a particular organization.^[3]

For additional statistics about Volunteers and nonprofit organizations in Canada please visit the Imagine Canada’s website.

Without volunteers, MBC and its many affiliate chapters would not be able to accomplish as much as we do to support our families in Canada. As such, the MBC Volunteer has become the focus of this year's ‘Back to Basics’ Volunteer Retreat (replacing a broader-themed conference), allowing the chapter and national volunteers to learn more about their roles, about being a volunteer, and about what resources are available from the national organization and their communities to support them. Of course, it is also a wonderful opportunity to have fun, share common experiences, and reward one's self for a year of hard work!

MBC is very proud of its efforts to increase its volunteer support at both the local and national levels with the creation of the Volunteer Orientation and Training websites, the forums created for the MBC Representatives, and the Chapter Executive Section - all portions of the national website launched last June. Funding applications to hire a Volunteer Coordinator and develop a Train The Trainer program for MBC have been made, recognizing the importance of volunteers to MBC and the affiliate chapters.

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all volunteers who have given and continue to give so freely of their time and efforts to support multiple-birth families in Canada. No contribution is too small and it’s the collective efforts of the extensive group of dedicated and hard working individuals making a difference within Multiple Births Canada and our many local affiliate chapters! Our sincerest appreciation to you for being part of this special group!

Multiple Births Canada Volunteers - Supporting Multiple Births Together!

Kimberley Weatherall
Chair/Director of Volunteer Management
Multiple Births Canada/Naissances multiples Canada (MBC)

chair@multiplebirthscanada.org/
volunteers@multiplebirthscanada.org
www.multiplebirthscanada.org

On behalf of the MBC Board of Directors, the Business Services Manager, the MBC Chapters and the membership of MBC, whose lives you touch each day.

______________________________________________________

¹ ^{Source, The National Survey of
Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations (NSNVO), 2004}

² ^{Source, The National
Survey of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations (NSNVO), 2004}

³ ^{Source, The National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and
Participating (NSGVP), 2000}

Multiple Births Canada/Naissances multiples Canada

Toll-free (in Canada): 1-866-228-8824

Tel: 705-429-0901

Fax: 705-429-9809

http://www.multiplebirthscanada.org/

mailto:office@multiplebirthscanada.org

2005 Back to Basics Volunteer Development Retreat – May 27 – 29, 2005 – Canadian Ecology Centre in Mattawa, Ontario

National Multiple Births Awareness Day – May 28^th, 2005

The content of this email is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Multiple Births Canada Information Circulars (ICs) are a mass email service managed by the Board of Directors of Multiple Births Canada and is for information sharing purposes only. Opinions and conclusions expressed through this service do not necessarily reflect the views of either the Board of Directors or the caring volunteers of Multiple Births Canada. If you wish to be removed or added to this list, please contact the Business Office.

^[1] ^{Source, The National
Survey of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations (NSNVO), 2004}

^[2] ^{Source, The National Survey of
Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations (NSNVO), 2004}

^[3] ^{Source, The National Survey of Giving,
Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP), 2000}