To mark National Volunteer Week (April 27 to May 3), VoicePrint hosted public panel interviews with two local service users and some special media guests, one from The Walrus magazine and  one from Toronto Community News.

      “Our volunteer readers are continuously asking for feedback from their listeners,” says Arlene Patterson, Director, VoicePrint Operations, “and so as a unique tribute to their work we invited local listeners Janet Gardiner and Linda Tennant, to give us their candid feedback and suggestions.”

     The volunteers who attended were gratified to hear this tribute from Linda Tennant: “You are the people that make it all happen. Without you, people like me, with no vision to read, would not have access to all these papers. You recognize the need in the community; you give generously of your time; and you unselfishly make the commitment. For making my life richer, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”

     Adds Patterson: “In addition, we wanted to give our volunteers the opportunity to talk to representatives of publications they read from, so we invited Patrick Fothergill, an editor at The Walrus magazine, and Steve Houston, Regional Managing Director of Toronto Community News, to our office.”

     Both sessions will be broadcast on VoicePrint’s Contact program. On Sunday, May 18, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern: the Q & A with listeners Gardiner and Tennant. On Sunday, May 25, at the same time: the Q & A with Fothergill and Houston.