The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

A breakfast salute during Volunteer Week By John Bkila OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF "We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give." The sentiment behind Winston Churchill's famous quote was the focus during Monday's 2012 Volunteer Recognition Breakfast and awards presentation for Halton volunteers at The Holiday Inn -- Oakville Centre. Hosted by Volunteer Halton, of Community Development Halton (CDH), the event held during National Volunteer Week (April 15-21), also served as the launch of this year's Change The World: Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge. "The event is to honour everyday volunteers. The awards were designed to honour the unsung heroes of every community," said Ann Coburn, director of Volunteer Halton. Four Community Awards were presented and 13 Cheers to Volunteers Awards were given to winners from each of Halton's four municipalities. In Halton, more than 67 per cent of the population aged 15 and over volunteer their time through an agency, group or an organization. Halton's volunteering rate is higher than that of both the province (47.3 per cent) and the nation (46 per cent). 5 · Wednesday, April 18, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com RIZIERO VERTOLLI / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog EVERYDAY HEROES: Some of Halton's finest volunteers at Monday morning's Community Volunteer Awards breakfast included Amy Stringer (front left) from Burlington, Emily Maulucci (front right) from Georgetown, (back, from left to right) Harnoor Gill of Georgetown, Michelle Ng, Keelee Buhlau, and Maggie Kerr from Oakville, Jessica Koppers of Georgetown, and Chelsey Pollari from Burlington. For related story, see page 11. Over a given 12-month reference period, Halton volunteers collectively contributed more than 38 million hours, which is the equivalent to 20,232 full-time, year-round jobs. On Monday, a youth troupe representing the Change The World campaign performed a short skit on what the community would be like without volunteers. The provincial youth volunteer challenge is a three-week campaign with one goal: to get high school students to volunteer in their community. In return, students receive the community involvement hours they need to graduate. Funded by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, Change The World is in its fifth year and, this year, aims to get 25,000 Ontario students contributing at least three hours to their community during the campaign that runs April 15-May 6. "Here in Halton, we've partnered with more than 20 organizations and schools to help create opportunities to give them (students) a chance to give back to the community... in a way that we can celebrate that over the next three weeks," said Shannon Kitchings, Change The World project co-ordinator. Halton Region Chair Gary Carr, Oakville See Photo page 10 JOIN The Oakville Children's Choir Choral Music Excellence for Children and Youth ages 5 - 18 Sat April 28 - Tues May 22 - Sat June 2 - Tues June 12 AUDITION DATES for Season 2012 2013 Book your child's audition today: phone (905) 337-7104 Little Notes Preparatory Choir Cherub Choir Intermediate Choir Senior Choir Chamber Choir Indigo Voices Youth Choir Vocal Coaching Theory Instruction Music Festivals Community Performances Social Activities Recordings International Tours Open Rehearsals at St. Simon's Mon Apr 23 & Tues Apr 24. Check out our website for more details! The Oakville Children's Choir - 123 Maurice Drive, Suite 203, Oakville L6K 2W6 - (905) 337-7104 - www.oakvillechildrenschoir.org UPCOMING EVENTS: One World, Many Voices World Vision WorldSong Project Performance May 11, 2012 Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts Bon Voyage Concert Celebrating Upcoming Tour to World Choir Games June 24, 2012 St Paul's United Church