Ottawa, December 5, 2023— On this International Volunteer Day, Canadian Parents for French would like to thank its volunteers across the country and recognize their important contributions to the organization and to the advancement of French learning opportunities.

“We are truly grateful for our volunteers. They are an essential component of our organization as we rely on them to successfully fulfil our mandate of creating opportunities to learn and use French. From tutors and camp counselors to contest judges and board directors, our awesome volunteers contribute greatly to our advocacy efforts and more,” added Nicole Thibault, CPF Network CEO.

International Volunteer Day is observed each year on December 5 as mandated by the UN Assembly General. This year’s theme, “If everyone did,” recognizes the power or collective action: if everyone volunteered the world would be a better place. This year’s theme reminds us that as the world changes, volunteers are often the first to help. This is true to CPF, as the pandemic really showed the resilience of our volunteer leaders who came together to optimize collaboration across our CPF Network. The pandemic also highlighted the key role they play in the organization when it launched the CPF Virtual Tutoring Club when schools closed, with French-speaking volunteers responding empathically to the call for tutors.

The CPF Virtual Tutoring Club is going strong in its fourth year and continues to grow each session thanks to the many committed volunteers that dedicate hours to facilitating weekly online French conversations, reading practice and homework help with students. We are proud of this diverse group of French-speaking individuals—over 557 in 2022—residing in all 10 provinces and who represent over 16 countries of origin before coming to call Canada home! The program exposes French learners to a variety of French accents within its friendly conversational approach, builds their linguistic confidence and promotes the benefits of bilingualism at an early age. For more information about volunteering with CPF, visit: https://cpf.ca/en/volunteer/.

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Canadian Parents for French is a nationwide, research-informed, volunteer organization that promotes and creates opportunities to learn and use French for all those who call Canada home.

 

For more information, please contact:

Marcos Salaiza, Communications Manager

Tel: 613.235.1481 x222 Email: msalaiza@cpf.ca