Volunteers make waves: recognizing our esteemed Board of Directors at CMHA Ottawa

May 1, 2025

Every day across Ontario, volunteers show up for their communities. Not for recognition or reward, but because they care.

This year’s National Volunteer Week theme, Volunteers Make Waves, is all about celebrating the powerful ripple effect volunteers create in their communities. Whether it’s helping out at an event or sharing insights and strategic direction, volunteers create a wave-like momentum that touches lives and strengthens communities.

In the mental health and addictions space, that impact is even more profound. Volunteers help people feel seen, supported and less alone. That kind of support can change the course of someone’s life.

This week, we’re recognizing the many ways our volunteers are making waves in Ontario, especially here at CMHA Ottawa:

To our esteemed Board of Directors: Your time, your expertise, energy and your compassion matter. Mental health and addictions services in Ontario are stretched, but thanks to dedicated and thoughtful volunteers like you, we’re reaching more people with more empathy and compassion.

Why it matters

• One in four Canadians aged 15+ reported needing mental health care in the past year but over a third couldn’t get the help they needed.
• At CMHA branches across Ontario, volunteers help bridge this gap, supporting services that empower people to recover and thrive.
• Across Canada, more than 24 million hours were volunteered to health organizations last year alone. That’s almost 2,800 years of care, with much of it right here in Ontario.

Along with providing leadership and governance, as volunteers, our valued Board of Directors offer hope, empathy and connection; the very things that help people recover from mental health challenges or substance use.

Every volunteer hour counts

At Ottawa, we’ve seen firsthand the difference volunteers make. Look no further than the inspiring story of our Board Vice-Chair and a founding member of our Peer Engagement Advisory Council, Lynne Vail, who brings the essential point of view of a person with lived experience to our branch’s governance table. Read Lynne’s story here: Bringing the peer perspective to the Board of Directors – CMHA Ottawa

The CMHA Ottawa Board of Directors provide our agency with the wisdom and guidance to be the best agency it can be.

From the entire CMHA Ottawa staff team: Happy National Volunteer Week. Thank you for all the time and talent you share with CMHA Ottawa. We appreciate each of your unique contributions and are proud to have you as an important part of our organization.

The Canadian Mental Health Association, Ottawa Branch (CMHA Ottawa), is an independent, community-based non-profit organization that provides services for eligible individuals in the Ottawa area with severe and persistent mental illness and/or substance use disorder, many of whom are experiencing chronic homelessness or are vulnerably housed. CMHA Ottawa is dedicated to promoting good mental health, developing and implementing sustainable support systems and services, and encouraging public action to strengthen community mental health services and related policies and legislation.