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Hands Up! a great success. Nearly 1,000 new volunteer sign-ups and leads come out of first-ever volunteer expo and conference The producer of Hands Up! gives the first-ever volunteer expo and conference the thumbs up. Tony Hebert says more than 5,600 people attended the expo, which ended Saturday afternoon at the Moncton Coliseum-Agrena. More than 100 non-profit agencies had booths, which led to 926 new volunteer sign-ups and leads. "Many non-profit organizations take months and years to recruit as many volunteers as they acquired in just a couple of days," Hebert says. "Several also reported almost doubling their volunteer numbers as others were simply pleased to acquire a few new volunteers, but more importantly were very pleased to educate the many visitors on their services and network with other (agencies)." Debbie McInnis, executive director of the United Way of Greater Moncton and Southeastern New Brunswick, was impressed with the variety of exhibitors at the expo. "I was like a lot of people who didn't realize there is such a diversity of volunteer opportunities available in our region," McInnis says. "There are opportunities for everyone who wants to help," she says. "These days, we have people working odd hours or two jobs and they have busy family lives too, but most agencies can work with people to find suitable opportunities that fit their lifestyle." McInnis says the expo attracted interest from all age groups and that's good news for the stretched-thin volunteer agencies. "There were a lot of high school kids in to see what the expo was all about. They thing bring a lot of enthusiasm and exuberance to volunteerism," she explains. "At the other end, there are a lot of seniors who stepped forward and agencies value their wisdom and experience. In between, there are people who brought their families to see what they could do together to help our community." Annette Vautour-MacKay, executive director of the Volunteer Centre of Southeastern New Brunswick, calls the expo "a wonderful experience" and says she was pleasantly surprised to see so many first-time volunteers step forward. "We have people who are new to the area and want to help the community and we also saw people who said they always wanted to volunteer, but they didn't know how to get started. "If they come see us at the volunteer centre, we can find an appropriate place for them. There are a lot of agencies who can use the help. It doesn't have to be a big commitment. Every little bit counts and the agencies appreciate it," she says. One sponsor who visited the weekend expo became a major financial backer for one of the non-profit agencies while another promised to build web sites for some of the organizations. Hebert, meanwhile, says he and other organizers will meet in early November to determine the future of Hands Up! "Some people think we should do this every year or every six months, but we have to evaluate it all," Hebert says. There is also an interest from several other communities who want to put on their own volunteer expo, he says.
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