Montreal, April 23, 2023 - As part of Volunteer Week activities, which has been celebrated for the past 24 years, more than 200 volunteers were invited to a Recognition Brunch on Sunday, April 23, 2023. Hosted by Borough Mayor Alan DeSousa (Vice President of Sustainability, Environment, Parks and Open Space) and Councillors, six members of the Bahá'í Community were also among the guests. At the Volunteer Recognition Brunch, a slide show highlighted the accomplishments of Borough organizations since 2020 as well as those of the Baha'i Community!
It was a welcome opportunity to renew the friendships that members of the St. Laurent Bahá'í Community have cultivated with members of the Laurentian community over the past quarter century!
A considerable number of the volunteers who are involved in the various projects are members of the Montreal Bahá'í Community. Raymond Flournoy (1924-2015), for example, served as a volunteer at St. Mary's Hospital in Montreal for much of his retirement, over 24 years! Many others have served as teachers, patient attendants, music teachers and captains of sports teams or in the Canadian military!
With a massive immigrant population, Saint-Laurent is a borough composed of more than 66 ethnic groups speaking about 100 languages and dialects. It is natural that there are a considerable number of organizations involved in volunteer work. Naturally, the members of the Bahá'í Community in this district were and still are involved in these activities for at least three decades!
Probably the first volunteer in this neighborhood was Suzanne Prud'homme (1933-2020) who worked throughout her retirement at Place Benoit. One of the main characteristics of the population that lives in Place Benoit is its very great diversity. In fact, some 50 ethnic groups of different cultural or religious backgrounds live there. Suzanne managed for about fifteen years the feeding and dressing of the inhabitants of this remarkable agglomeration! “We had even organized Learning courses for some families in this part of the city," says one of the Baha'is!
Other members of the Bahá'í Community are involved in non-profit organizations in the borough, such as CARI Saint-Laurent, Centre d'Encadrement pour Jeunes Femmes Immigrantes (CEJFI), Le Comité des organismes sociaux de Saint-Laurent (COSSL), Cégep de Saint-Laurent, the YMCA, the Maison des Parents de Bordeaux-Cartierville and Centre ABC (Centre Action Bénévole)
The Saint-Laurent administration has always held in high esteem the work that volunteers on a daily basis and that they contribute significantly to the quality of life enjoyed by the citizens of Saint-Laurent.