Shared Values Live On

The very essence of the volunteer spirit in New Brunswick can be traced back to the shared value of mutual assistance of not only New Brunswick native communities, but also the first European settlers in the province. It is this very value that is found at the heart of the native people who helped teach the first pioneers how to survive. They taught them everything from how to forage for food in this new land to how to travel on snowshoes. The pioneers themselves also held this value in high regard and pulled together to adjust to their new way of life. Later, the value of mutual assistance grew and inspired people’s sense of what is just and the need to convey compassion to those less fortunate; this was particularly true of religious groups who were the first proponents of organized groups of volunteers in New Brunswick.

Did you Know?

• In 1854, The Sisters of Charity of Saint John was the first English-speaking congregation in Canada.
  
• In 1870, the first Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) in Canada was opened in Saint John.
  
• In 1940, as part of the war effort, students at Fredericton High School voluntarily raised enough money to first purchase a mobile canteen for fire-fighters in England then later a training plane.
  
• In 1945, 1 out of 4 New Brunswickers were volunteer members of the Canadian Red Cross Society.
  
• In 1999, New Brunswick helped 2500 Kosovar refuges who had evacuated from the former Yugoslovia.
  
• In 2001, following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, New Brunswick offered food and shelter to 2,100 people, after they were stranded in airports.
  
• Today, that shared value of mutual assistance lives on in the more than 174,000 volunteers who give their time to the over 3800 non-profit, voluntary organizations and registered charities in New Brunswick. Whether it is a local special event or a large scale tragedy, New Brunswickers prove daily that all it takes is caring and kindness to make a difference.