Cece Van Aert is struggling to replace the volunteers who left.
As a volunteer co-ordinator with Ausome Ottawa, a registered charity that enriches the lives of children with autism through sport and recreation, Van Aert found it harder than usual to recruit volunteers for the organization’s annual ‘Tot or Treat’ Halloween event.
The event, which took place Sunday at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility, lets kids on the autism spectrum make crafts, brave obstacle courses and even practice knocking on a fake door to reduce anxiety around trick-or-treating.
Van Aert said the event, and others like it, can only exist with the help of volunteers. But Ausome Ottawa lost about three quarters of its volunteer base during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its talent pool of around
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