Members of the Chinese community on Prince Edward Island on Saturday gave a big thank you to the volunteers who represented them at the Canada Games 2023.
Over 60 volunteers attended an event hosted by the Chinese Canadian Association of PEI to celebrate their participation during the two weeks that the Games were held in PEI
The association says the volunteers’ work shows that people in the community are showing up to help when needed.
“During the past two weeks of volunteering, we’ve met many other PEI Chinese-Canadian volunteers that we didn’t know before,” said Lannia Pan MacAleer, one of the leaders of the association.
“It was a pity that we didn’t have a chance to get to know each other. Also, we thought this would be a great opportunity for the Sino-Canadian Association of PEI to officially say thank you and recognize their hard work.”
Pan MacAleer said that one of the main reasons the association wanted to host the event was to encourage newcomers to become more involved in the local community, take on other volunteer roles or attend charity events.
“We all love PEI, we all love Canada. That’s why we chose this place as our second home and enjoy great cultural benefits… and we love giving back to the local community, helping to grow together.”
Huamin Xu has lived on the island for over two decades and has been involved with the association for years. He said as the Chinese community on the island continues to grow, the association has tried to encourage members to open up more and participate in the broader community.
The association has around 1,000 members.
“We used to divide our small circle,” he said. “But now we want to encourage people to… integrate into society.
“That’s one thing. Second, we really want to say a big thank you to all of these volunteers. That’s incredible.”
Yong Zhou came to the PEI with his family in 2021. He and his 16-year-old son volunteered during the Games.
Zhou worked at several locations including Crabbe Mountain in New Brunswick where the alpine skiing took place. That’s 400 kilometers round trip.
“It’s a unique opportunity here for everyone,” he said.
“When I moved here [what] It touched me to see people helping each other and contributing to society. And I wanted to… contribute to my society. Help others.”
Taiwanese violinist Tzu-Cheng Wang performed music for the volunteers. He was accompanied by his wife and daughter.
Wang was one of the people who helped carry the Canada Games torch across the PEI before the opening ceremony.
“I think it’s really important because [we] have many Chinese volunteers,” he said.
