Thanks to volunteers

Mary Green, CARG board member, would like to thank all the volunteers who attended the June 24 picnic. Special thanks go to Kathy and Paul Matlock for providing the venue; Lloyd Wudrick and Don Campbell for the entertainment; Marg and Wayne Rice for helping set up and take down; and to all others who helped. Please remember that CARG is always looking for volunteers for various duties. Watch the notice boards for the latest opportunities

Volunteering can help stave off heart disease

Volunteering can help develop a healthier cardiovascular system and stave off cardiac disease in as little as 10 weeks, says a US study. The research bolsters the evidence that devoting time and energy to a cause not only makes people feel good, it also impacts physical wellbeing positively. Hannah Schreier, from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, said: "The volunteers who reported the greatest increases in empathy, altruistic behaviour and mental health were the ones who also saw the greatest improvements in their cardiovascular health." Schreier led the study looking at the effect of volunteering on adolescents' physical health while working at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, the Journal of American Medical Association Paediatrics reports. The study involved 106 teenagers from an urban, inner-city Vancouver high school who were split into two groups, a group that volunteered regularly for 10 weeks and a group that was wait-listed for volunteer activities. Researchers measured the students' body mass index (BMI), inflammation levels which affect heart's health and cholesterol scores before and after the study. The volunteer group of students spent one hour per week working with elementary school children in after-school programmes in their neighbourhood. After 10 weeks they had lower levels of inflammation and cholesterol and lower (body mass index) BMIs than the students who were wait-listed. Schreier said: "It was encouraging to see how a social intervention to support members of the community also improved the health of adolescents."

Volunteers needed for CARG fee collections

Mary Green writes: Volunteers needed for CARG fee collections

When: The first Monday, Wednesday and Friday of the month
Time: Starting at 6:30 a.m. going until 10:30 a.m. 1 hour long shifts
Number of Volunteers: Four per shift would be nice
Please contact Mary Green at bmgreen@sasktel.net or 343-6552 or sign the list on the notice board at the field house

Video: Volunteer Heroes- British Heart Foundation

Meet some of the British Heart Foundation Shops volunteers who talk about what they enjoy most about working in our stores

International Volunteer Day 2008

International Volunteer Day is 5 December 2008. IVD offers an opportunity for volunteer organizations and individual volunteers to make visible their contributions - at local, national and international levels - to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Over the years, rallies, parades, community volunteering projects, environmental awareness, free medical care and advocacy campaigns have all featured prominently on IVD. See also:
Volunteer Canada
Volunteer Saskatoon