Volunteers are the backbone for so many organizations and their events.

Volunteer Appreciation Week was celebrated last week across Canada, and the Biggar Museum & Gallery held a special brunch this past Saturday to recognize the people who have helped them so much over the years. The museum wanted to flip the script.

"If you helped us stand out in the community, tomorrow is your turn."

People in attendance received a gift bag and flowers all made possible by local businesses and SaskLotteries.

Executive Director at the museum Christy McCafferty talked a little more about the day. The event was open to anyone who had helped out at the museum over the years. McCafferty said they knew a good place to start looking for possible invitees.

"We have big lists of like 100 people who bake cookies and pies for us for our various fundraisers. We've had them for years," she shared, "We just started off by calling each one of them personally to invite them. Then some of them hadn't updated their numbers over the years, so we did a blanket advertisement and wound up with about 40 people coming."

Spotty April weather forced the brunch indoors. Both the museum's staff and board members were the ones preparing brunch and other amenities such as the gift bags seen above. Only about 6 were left according to McCafferty.

"I made exactly 50!" shared McCafferty. Flowers were also given out to those who showed up as well.

McCafferty wanted people to know that this celebration wasn't just to recognize work from the past year. They remember all of the help they received during the pandemic, and McCafferty considers the extra help as a big reason why the Museum itself is still running.

People stayed for the entire time to chat. McCafferty mentioned how it was a great chance for seniors in attendance to be social, and see people they don't typically see outside of volunteer opportunity's. 

"It was really great for everybody to catch up."