At the time of publishing this editorial, North Shore Rescue members have been called out 105 times so far this year taking up more than 5,000 hours of volunteers’ time.
If you include training, fundraising, meetings and maintenance, you’d have to double those hours and then some.
Our two Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue units were on the water a combined 59 times and logged more than 8,000 hours to keep us safe on the water.
As we gather with our friends and family this time of year, we are always grateful to our rescue volunteers for all the lives they saved and families kept whole through their selflessness.
But we tip our hats as well to thousands more who coached a team, rescued an animal, helped the needy, preserved our history, beautified a public space or taught us to live more sustainably, all on their own time.
We all love the North Shore for its mountains and access to the sea, but we would argue what really makes it grand here is the people who strive so selflessly to make it so.
They sit through unglamourous meetings, they wade through rivers, they go door to door, they stand in the rain on the sidelines, all in the name of making the North Shore safer, cleaner, healthier, more accessible, more just and more welcoming.
It was heartening for us to bring you their stories through 2019 and we are excited for more in 2020.
To everyone who gave of themselves this year, we say thank you.
We love what you’ve done with the place.
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