Local Volunteers Honored At “Emotional” Appreciation Evening

In a previous article, Saint Lucia’s volunteers were described as “unsung.” However, at least once every year, the contributions of these selfless individuals are honored at the annual Volunteer Appreciation Evening, held on Saturday, December 7th.

This year, the gathering took place at the Finance Administrative Center at Pointe Seraphine, where volunteers from various chapters of Volunteers Saint Lucia, across the country, came together to reflect on a year of service. The semi-formal event was a night of strong emotions, with moments of both laughter and tears. The occasion featured various dignitaries, including Venezuelan Ambassador to Saint Lucia, Her Excellency Lieff Escalona.

This has been an eventful year for Saint Lucia’s volunteers. With events of international significance, such as the T20 World Cup, Caribbean Premier League, and Julien Alfred’s homecoming, their influence on the success of these gatherings, though often uncelebrated, was certainly felt by organisers and attendees alike.

During the evening, volunteers honored the life and legacy of Kurlyn George, one of the founding members of Volunteers Saint Lucia, who recently passed away. Attendees took time to reminisce about the stalwart’s contribution to her community, chapter, and country in general. George’s unrelenting spirit and her spiritual convictions were highlighted as key components of her philosophy of service. While these moments of reflection were mostly sad due to the enormity of the loss, there was also a sense of gratitude for a life well lived.

The government of Saint Lucia was represented at the event by Minister for Youth Development and Sports Kenson Casimir. Casimir, who had been involved in volunteer activities during his youth, highlighted the importance of these selfless acts in the development of both the individual and society at large.

“It builds you. If we can get people to get involved in volunteerism earlier, they will start having conversations with persons who are right-minded in terms of developing a community and not necessarily themselves. So you find most people who are volunteers are not the ones that believe in individualism. They are the ones who will say, ‘What can I do to develop my country, my community?’ And so, you develop the right mindset.”

The Minister also beamed with pride at the work done by volunteers during this eventful year. He noted that volunteers make his job easier.

“When we meet at these regional conferences and meetings, we talk about needing volunteers and persons in the community to get things done, and I mean, I have it good, because it’s very easy to round up people for those events,” he said. “It’s very important for us to appreciate them, and again, I want to say thank you to them as we continue to have those events and host them at a high level.”