From Summerland to Okanagan Falls, hundreds of local volunteers were thanked for their efforts on Saturday morning (May 3) with a free breakfast inside Penticton's Rotary Park.
"Envision a world that doesn't have a soup kitchen or Salvation Army," began Subrina Monteith, executive director of the South Okanagan Similkameen (SOS) Community Connections and Volunteer Centre. "Volunteers support non-profit organizations that have a mission to do good work in a community and often those causes are very critical."
Monteith said around 250 volunteers from across the region registered for the event, which served up pancakes and sausages from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Penticton Coun. Isaac Gilbert was among the elected officials serving up food for volunteers and said it's important to recognize the time volunteers dedicate toward their communities.
"The culture we have here is that people always step up for the community, whether it's for events or for fires and disasters," Gilbert said. "Volunteers step in and so many people care about the wellbeing of our community."
Members of the Penticton Fire Department also helped cook breakfast.
This marks the third year in a row the SOS Volunteers Centre has organized the appreciation breakfast. Monteith said the City of Penticton was instrumental this year in helping festivities proceed.
Last month, Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield declared April 27 to May 3 as Volunteer Week. Ahead of this weekend's breakfast, Bloomfield called volunteers "the backbone of our community who support local not-for-profits, service clubs, festivals or events."
