International Volunteer Year 2026 Canada

Onscreen: images from the harbour of Iqaluit; close-up on someone cutting fish with an ulu-a traditional, crescent-shaped cutting tool used by Inuit peoples; outside, someone riding a snowmobile.

Scene fades to Udlu sitting in a home, speaking directly to the camera: I think especially for this award to be awarded to somebody here in Nunavut, it really helps to highlight what's happening in Nunavut.

Onscreen, the logo for the Canada Volunteer Awards appears, a striped, multi-colour maple leaf with a figure inside, and the text Canada's Volunteer Awards, Udloriak Hanson, Thérèse Casgrain Lifelong Achievement Award 2024 Recipient.

Image fades to a group photo of members of the Annauma Community Foundation, in front of a screen showing two other members. Image fades to a picture of Udlu in front of a microphone, speaking at an event.

Udlu: Annauma Community Foundation is a community foundation. It's the first in Nunavut.

Onscreen: two members of the Annauma Community Foundation sitting on either side of a screen that shows 3 other members.

Onscreen, a display of beadwork collars. Image fades back to Udlu speaking to the camera.

Udlu: The obvious impacts that we've seen, is providing support to community people, community organizations, nonprofits, and charitable organizations here in Iqaluit and in Nunavut.

Image fades to outside, a group of people in a snowy environment, with snowmobiles, standing beside shelters, speaking to each other.

Udlu voice-over: There are caring southern Canadians that want to help the North,

Back to Udlu inside speaking to the camera

Udlu: want to provide support to the North, and there was no real charitable means to do it, no medium. So, with a community foundation, we really created a bridge between the South and our Northern community partners.

Switch to outside, view from within a car, driving through Iqaluit, buildings on either side of the road.

There are many that have inspired me, but quite honestly, of course, my mother and father.

Back to Udlu inside speaking to the camera

Udlu: During snowstorms, mom and dad would get all bundled up. And they would drive around the community to make sure the people had what they needed--tea bags, you know. And it was just… it was something we grew up with, and it started to translate into things, like my mother used to take me to visit elders, you learn a lot from elders, obviously, visiting with elders about what the community needs, what needs what kind of support, people need, from a very, you know, essential place, a really grounded place.

Outside, the image closes in on the bay with a parked snowmobile and sledge in the foreground beside a rock, and buildings in the background to the left side. Fades to inside a community meeting, people sitting in chairs and standing, talking.

Udlu voice-over: To me, it's not just, you know, an award that's been awarded to me.

Image fades to a young woman speaking to a child.

Udlu voice-over: It's my family and those around me that have been able to …

Back to Udlu inside speaking to the camera

to help me do what I want to do…And, so I think it's, if there's any reason for a recognition that's really to recognize them and the important work that everybody does here to ensure that we have healthy, vibrant communities.

The screen fades to blue and red. The logo for the Canada Volunteer Awards appears, a striped, multi-colour maple leaf with a figure inside; text on screen Canada's Volunteer Awards, Canada.ca/cva-recipient-2024

The screen fades to black and the logo for the UN International Volunteer Year 2026 appears, a hand stylized from the letters I, V and Y, with the year 2026 below.

Canada wordmark appears in white.

On screen : Dr. Lloydetta Quaicoe, Founder & CEO, Sharing Our Cultures, Community Leader Award 2019

Lloydetta appears on screen in an office, speaking directly to the camera.

Hello, I am Lloydetta Quaicoe. I received Canada's Volunteer Award for Community Leader in the Atlantic region in 2019.

It's important to recognize volunteers because they do a lot of work and provide excellent services in their communities. They give up their time, their talents, their resources, sometimes they open their homes to others, and they work in food banks

to make sure that the lives of others are good and that many people can benefit from the work that they do.

My volunteering has changed the lives of newcomer youth in Newfoundland and Labrador, because I found out that a lot of them were here and they were learning about the local culture, just the Anglo-Irish culture, which is mainstream here in the province, and they didn't get an opportunity to share their own cultures.

So, I started working with them and giving them opportunities to tell their own stories, to share about themselves. And this, I found, was very empowering for them. It gave them a sense of belonging and a sense of place.

They were able to nurture friendships, healthy friendships. They didn't feel so socially isolated as they did prior to that time.

Prior to starting the Sharing Our Cultures program and meeting with the students, they really felt that they were not a part of the community. And also about 1500 schoolchildren and youth will also participate in the program, and this is done throughout the province.

Volunteering is important now more than ever, and every moment matters because there are so many social needs in our communities. There's homelessness, people have mental health issues, food insecurity, unemployment, social isolation. And there's usually not enough formal services to meet every need.

It's exciting and humbling as well to be recognized for a national award that acknowledges volunteers. Because although volunteers don't really do it for the accolades or for anything they will get back, it makes a difference in the lives of others and their community, and the province, and the country as well.

The screen fades to blue and the logo for the Canada Volunteer Awards appears, a maple leaf with a figure inside, surrounded by a rainbow.

The screen fades to black and the logo for the UN International Volunteer Year 2026 appears, a hand stylized from the letters I, V and Y, with the year 2026 below.

Canada wordmark appears in white.