We have lots to report once again, starting with a warm welcome to Anna Glickman, our new Community Services Manager. Tom Firth, who is taking on the Communications Director role, and Jessica Barkwell, who, after helping us navigate our way through many changes over the last two years, has agreed to join the Board as our Membership Director!
We have a great team of Staff and Board Members, but of course, we have room for more! We still have vacant positions in our Volunteer and Social Coordinator roles. If you like recruiting and organizing volunteers or are good at planning functions and events, and if you want to build a team of like-minded people, we would love your help! Alternatively, please reach out to us if you would like to get involved and “shadow” a current board member or help in any other role.
Speaking about volunteers, if you have enjoyed our brand-new tennis and pickleball courts this year, have skated on our fantastic, expanded rinks this winter, or had a great community garden harvest, and are looking for a way to give back in appreciation for all of these volunteer built and operated offerings, we need a few more Casino volunteers on February 22 and 23.
Why is the Casino so important to WRCA? We rely on significant outside funding to operate and provide affordable space and services to our community. Our volunteer directors seek grants to pay for most capital projects, and we rely on Casino funding to pay for much of our non-negotiable overhead costs. Our insurance and utilities alone cost us over $35,000 per year. Our rental revenues cover our staff overhead and some operating costs, but we constantly struggle to build our nest egg for repairs and other neat future projects.
We usually get about $60,000 in revenue for the two days and nights of our volunteer time, and we get awarded a Casino once every 18 months at best. With 200 hours of casino volunteer hours required, if you decide to help, this values your time at a spectacular $300 per hour! If you can volunteer for an 8-hour shift, that is the same as making a $2400 donation to your community! We need around 30 volunteers and given the uncertainty that we all face with the ongoing pandemic, a strong cohort of backups would be very helpful.
If you can spare some time, it would mean a lot to your community. You can sign up on our website, email [email protected] for more details, or even reach out to our excellent staff at [email protected].
So please consider volunteering and bring a friend or neighbour!
Don Boykiw
