More than six million Ontarians contribute to their communities through volunteerism each year. In recognition of this, the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration held a Volunteer Service Awards ceremony on April 29. The event celebrated the dedicated service of volunteers in the western GTA.

Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) nominated three volunteers for their outstanding contributions to the local environment. Mississauga’s Pat Kelly and Jean Williams along with Acton’s Bill McIlveen received awards for 10, 40 and 20 years of service respectively. Award recipients were presented with a commemorative pin and personalized certificate acknowledging their years of service.

“Volunteers serve such an important purpose at CVC and their support allows us to perform much-needed work in the community,” said Annabel Krupp, Volunteer Program Coordinator at CVC. “The ceremony showed that volunteer efforts do not go unnoticed.”

The ceremony, held at the Mississauga Convention Centre, was attended by hundreds, including MPP Dipika Dimerla and CVC CAO Deborah Martin-Downs.

The Ontario Volunteer Service Awards recognizes youth with over two years of continuous volunteer service and adults with over five years of continuous service. Nominees must be active participants in the organization and must not receive payment for their services.

Conservation Authorities are a provincial/municipal partnership. CVC was established by an Act of the Province of Ontario in 1954 with a mandate to protect all natural resources, other than minerals, in the area drained by the Credit River. We have been working for 60 years with our partner municipalities and stakeholders to protect and enhance the natural environment of the Credit River watershed for present and future generations. CVC is a member of Conservation Ontario.