St. John's Communauté Nouvelles

Phones were ringing all through the evening as the St. Anthony Volunteer Fire Department accepted pledges for its significant yearly fundraiser. On Nov. 6, the department hosted its 26th annual telethon, raking in $21,551.70.

While many students enjoyed a day off on Friday for professional development day at schools in the province, 11-year-old Alexander Taylor of Newtown Elementary volunteered at the Poppy Campaign. Taylor says he volunteers and wears a poppy to remember his great grandfathers Victor Taylor and Greg Barrett, and his great uncle Charles Taylor who fought in WWI, and his great uncle Jim Kavanagh, who fought in WWII.

A national project that allows people to purchase artwork with volunteer time instead of money was set up at YellowBelly restaurant in downtown St. John's on Wednesday. It's called Timeraiser150 and was launched for the Canada 150 celebrations as a way to encourage people across Canada to get more involved with different non-profit organizations.

A new mobile application and a volunteer trail custodian program are the two newest additions to the Grand Concourse Authority (GCA), a non-profit organization committed to the development, enhancement and protection of an award-winning walkway in Newfoundland. Advertisement Between 1993 and 2005, approximately 125 kilometres of walkways, linkages and connecting sidewalk routes were constructed across the Northeast Avalon, creating the Grand Concourse walkway network.

Beginning an art collection can be daunting, both in selecting the art and in having the means to pay for it. Timeraiser, part of the Framework Foundation, offers a solution to at least one of these problems by creating a platform for art aspiring collectors to acquire the works of burgeoning artists through volunteer hours.

Ron Penney walks on the Grand Concourse or the East Coast Trail on the northeast Avalon every day, but in addition to the beautiful views of nature and wildlife, he's seeing more and more litter.