Pan Am games looking for volunteers

(Updated)

It will take at least 2,000 volunteers to run next year’s Pan Am games events in Hamilton alone.

Monday the recruiting process for a crucial element to the games began. It’s also the start of National Volunteer Week, so it’s an appropriate time to begin the search for all the extra sets of hands that will make these games run smoothly.

Many volunteers will be stationed right at the stadium, but others will be spread out across the city, helping with everything from traffic flow to medical services.

It’s Ontario’s largest volunteer recruitment since World War II, and certainly Hamilton’s largest – bigger even than the 2003 Road World Cycling Championships.

Greg Maychak manages the Pan Am games’ Hamilton office. “They are crucial and critical to the games’ success. without those volunteers you could not host a major event like the 20-15 pan american games.”

The games are looking for 20,000 volunteers across Ontario – 2,000 in Hamilton alone.

Melanie Winterle, the director of Volunteer Hamilton, thinks recruitment will be a breeze considering Hamilton’s volunteering rate is 6 per cent higher than the national average.

“I think it’s going to be really easy to get those volunteers, especially since we have a really thriving soccer community in Hamilton as well.”

Maychak: “It’s really a chance to meet people from the 41 countries and be part of something that will be really special in their area.”

Volunteers will be helping with everything from directing traffic to taking tickets to hosting cultural events. It’s not a small commitment – it involves at least 100 hours of service.

Janet Laurence has volunteered with Team Canada at two Olympic games and will be helping at Pan Am as well. She says the sacrifice is well worth it. “If you can volunteer with the Pan Am games and take yourself from the sidelines to the frontlines, don’t hesitate to do it.”

But with the number of applicants who already registered today, earning one of those 20,000 positions could get competitive.

Volunteers are also needed in Welland and St Catharines. Applicants who are chosen for interviews will find out early this summer.