Someone once observed, "Those who can, do. Those who can do more, volunteer."

Those may not be my words, but they certainly express my sentiments. The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) makes a point of celebrating volunteers for the tremendous difference they make to the organizations and the communities they serve.

As chair of one of Canada's leading grant-making foundations, I feel strongly about the importance of volunteers. OTF's board of directors and 16 grant review teams, of more than 300 people, show remarkable dedication to serving their communities.

Volunteer time is unpaid time and that makes it especially valuable. I wish to thank OTF's grant review team in the Hamilton area for its continued hard work and dedication under the skilled leadership of acting chair Frank Passaro.

It's reassuring that there are so many others giving their time and talents to the community. Last year, in the Hamilton area, more than 2,700 volunteers contributed almost 79,000 hours to support organizations that received funding from our foundation. If we translate their efforts into value, it comes to more than $1.3 million of giving.

All of us are touched and enriched by the work of volunteers, whether we volunteer ourselves or benefit in some way from the volunteer work of others.

So take a moment during to thank volunteers for generously donating their time, talents and passion to countless causes across the province. Thanks to their commitment, our communities and our province are better places to live.

Helen Burstyn, chair,

Ontario Trillium Foundation