Our Government
Community Service
Volunteer
Volunteer of the Year

Volunteer of the Year

The City of Whitehorse values the importance of volunteers and their contributions to our community. Since 1987, it has celebrated and publicly acknowledged outstanding volunteers by providing an opportunity for residents to recognize and appreciate volunteers. The City annually invites organizations to nominate an individual as a candidate for this honour. The nominee should be someone who has made a significant contribution to an organization or to the community as a whole.

Nominee Criteria

The nominee must:

  • Be a volunteer and not receive financial compensation for their service;
  • Be nominated by an organization that is based in Whitehorse. An organization can nominate one individual per year;
  • Embody valuable and selfless commitment to innovation, dedication, and contribution to the enhancement of Whitehorse;
  • Contribute valuable skills and selfless commitment to outstanding volunteerism in Whitehorse; and
  • Be a living individual that has been or still is a Whitehorse resident.

Evaluation Criteria

The committee will be looking for evidence of the following in the application. Please ensure that you include everything that could apply as the committee only reviews the information provided in the nomination form.

The evaluation guideline includes, but is not limited to:

  • Duration of volunteerism: The number of years/months the nominee has committed and the number of organizations/groups the nominee volunteers with.
  • Impact: Refers to the depth of the nominee’s contribution. Has the nominee identified and addressed a priority in their community? Have their contributions and commitment made a lasting difference?
  • Engagement: Describes how the nominee’s contributions sparked teamwork to address social, local, and community challenges. How did they engage others?
  • Challenges: Describes the challenges or obstacles that the nominee has overcome to make a contribution to their community.
  • Inspiration/leadership: Describes how the nominee became a role model in their community or in their organization. How did they share their experiences and knowledge?

Nomination Application

Please ensure that your nominee is aware of the nomination. To received the most accurate information about your nominee, please involve them when it’s time to write your nomination.

The individual you nominate will be invited to join us at the Volunteer Reception Dinner with a guest and a representative from your organization on Thursday, April 20 at 5:30 pm at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre. This will be held during National Volunteer Week to recognize all nominated volunteers who have contributed many hours to community organizations throughout Whitehorse. At the reception, one individual will be selected by City Council as the City’s Volunteer of the Year.

You must fill out this form in one single session, please allow yourself enough time to do so. An application cannot be processed if any of the questions are not answered, or if any items are missing.

For questions about the program, please contact the Corporate Events Coordinator at [email protected].

Opening date: Monday, January 9, 2023
Closing date: Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 4:30 p.m.

Nominee information

Please make sure your nominee is aware of the nomination.
Cell phone is preferable

Nominating organization

Tell us about your nominee

Using the following nomination criteria, please indicate in the space provided below how your nominee participates or contributes in your organization or group. The nominee must:

  • be a volunteer and not receive financial compensation for their service.
  • volunteer service that is focused in Whitehorse.
  • be nominated by an organization that is based in Whitehorse. An organization can nominate one individual per year.
  • embody valuable and selfless commitment to innovation, dedication, and contribution to the enhancement of Whitehorse.
  • contribute valuable skills and selfless commitment to outstanding volunteerism in Whitehorse.
  • be a living individual that has been or still is a Whitehorse resident.
    Make sure to highlight: a) The role your nominee plays in your organization or group; and b) One or two of your nominee’s most significant contributions. Please use below examples to help you write this statement.

    Great example (250 words or less)

    The Mineralogy Group (M Group) is pleased to nominate Ira Lazarus for Volunteer of the Year. Over the past four months, Ira has played an integral role in M Group by spearheading several outreach and educational programs. Ira is a creative, motivated and enthusiastic volunteer who strives to share knowledge and enthusiasm about mineralogy with others in the community. While assisting in many different ways, from grant proposal writing to web design, Ira’s most significant contribution to M Group is the development and implementation of educational and mentorship programs for youth. As part of this, Ira developed educational pamphlets and interpretative signs, and compiled resources and information to distribute at key educational events. Ira also successfully paired half a dozen youth with mentors in their field of interest/expertise. Ira has made a real difference in the areas of public outreach and education. It is for these reasons that M Group believes Ira should be the successful recipient of Volunteer of the Year award.

    Not-so-great example - too short & non-specific

    Ira Lazarus has been nominated by M Group for Volunteer of the Year. Ira is originally from Ontario, but came to the Yukon seven years ago. Ira has two dogs, and enjoys being outside hiking or biking. Ira has been an active volunteer with M Group for four months.

    Not-so-great example - too wordy

    The Mineralogy Group (M Group) is pleased to nominate Ira Lazarus for Volunteer of the Year. M Group is an educational organization with a mandate to foster and deepen understanding, interest and enthusiasm of mineralogy in Yukon. It depends on the commitment of volunteers to exist. Ira is a new volunteer who began volunteer training in March and graduated nine months later in November. Our volunteer training calls for long-term commitment to the organization, over ten hours of training and a self-directed study course. Over the past four months, Ira has played an integral role in M Group by spearheading several outreach and educational programs. Ira is a creative, motivated and enthusiastic volunteer who strives to share knowledge and enthusiasm about mineralogy with others in the community. Ira now holds a position on the board as Outreach Coordinator. As Outreach Coordinator, Ira redesigned the M Group website, and boosted its social media presence. In addition, Ira contributed to M Group outreach by developing and implementing educational and mentorship programs for youth. As part of this, Ira developed educational pamphlets and interpretative signs, and compiled resources and information to distribute at key educational events. Ira also successfully paired half a dozen youth with mentors in their field of interest/expertise. Along with coordinating outreach, Ira has worked to increase volunteer membership, and helped with fundraising for M Group. This included writing grant proposals, organizing raffles and soliciting support from various community businesses. Through tireless work, impressive technical skills, generous nature and pervasive sense of humour, Ira has made and continues to make, impressive contributions to our community as a volunteer. It is clear from all of the things listed above that Ira has made a real difference in the areas of outreach and education, as well as membership and fundraising. It is for these reasons that M Group believes Ira should be the successful recipient of Volunteer of the Year award.

    Past Volunteer of the Year Winners

    Max Ayers

    R.B. (Bob) Cousins

    Joe Goodeill

    Laurent Cyr

    Alice Patnode

    Pat Olsen

    George Sinfield

    Vic Tubman (Lake Laberge Lions Club)

    Truska Gorrell

    Marg Baker

    Jan Kulicki

    Isabelle Gow

    Larry Bagnell

    Ralph Simpson & Henning Hansen

    Lloyd Ryder

    Carol Adams

    Jennifer Moorlag (Girl Guild of Canada)

    Suzanne Bertrand (Whitehorse Curling Club)

    Rod Hill (Rotary Club of Whitehorse)

    Grant Macdonald (Crime Prevention Yukon)

    Mary Armstrong (Hospice Yukon)

    Michael Purves (Habitat for Humanity)

    Elinore Frederickson (Learning Disabilities Association of the Yukon)

    Ken Mason (Macaulay Lodge)

    Shirley Anderson (Women’s Auxiliary to the Whitehorse General Hospital)

    Ed Sumner (Grey Mountain Lions Club)

    Gary Bailey (Kwanlin Dün First Nation)

    Marg White (Athletics Yukon / Whitehorse Curling Club)

    Jordi Mikeli-Jones (Kona’s Animal Assistance Coalition)

    Jeff Marynowski (Porter Creek Community Assoc.)

    Linda Enders (Women’s Auxiliary to the Whitehorse General Hospital)

    Afan Jones (Yukon Orienteering Association)

    Kim Solonick (Canadian Mental Health Association, Yukon Division)

    Ashley Fewer (Rendezvous Rotary Satellite Club)

    Bill Bruton (Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition)