I rise in this house today to honour a volunteer from this province who has received a national award for her hard work and dedication to Easter Seals. Eileen Bartlett was one of five recipients of the Today�s Parent, For Kids Sake Awards presented in Toronto earlier this month. Eileen was awarded $10,000 which she donated to Easter Seals Newfoundland and Labrador.

Ms. Bartlett has dedicated her talents and countless hours as a full-time volunteer with Easter Seals. She is part of a team of volunteers and staff who work to maximize the abilities and enhance the quality of life for 1,500 children in our province with physical disabilities through the provision of recreational, social and other therapeutic programs, direct assistance, education and advocacy. 

Eileen Bartlett�s effort, time, and dedication to these children and their families inspire all of us. She gives over 35 hours a week to Easter Seals; if everyone could contribute just a quarter of that time, our communities and non-profit organizations would thrive at a level that would improve the lives of every single one of us.

It is vital to the recruitment and retention of volunteers that we recognize and celebrate their contributions. Ms. Bartlett is one of the 187,000 volunteers in this province who contribute 35 million hours of valuable unpaid time to their communities and community organizations. As I stand here today to thank and congratulate Eileen, I would also like to express my gratitude to those volunteers around the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador for the work they do to provide a quality of life for their communities.

Our mandate is to develop a relationship between government and the sector that is dynamic, productive and of benefit to communities across the province. We want to help organizations address the challenges they face in recruitment and retention, governance and other questions of capacity as they wrestle with the effects of a changing society. We need vibrant organizations like Easter Seals and volunteers like Eileen Bartlett as we work together to provide services and programs to families and children in communities across Newfoundland and Labrador.

I would ask that all honourable members join with me today in recognizing Eileen Bartlett for her For Kids Sake Award from Today�s Parent. She is truly an extraordinary individual and someone who deserves this award and all the recognition we can bestow upon her.