DUNNVILLE—The Optimist Club of Dunnville, in keeping with their vision to “bring out the best in their community,” decided to bring back and expand upon Quint Night.
Before Covid, Quint Night was an annual evening held in February where the Dunnville Service Clubs – the Legion, Lioness, Lions, Optimist, and Kinsmen – met over dinner, shared their accomplishments from the year before, and shared their calendar of events for the forthcoming year.
This year a notice was sent out into the community and 14 not-for-profit organizations responded. On Saturday, February 3, 2024 the organizations met at the Optimist Hall for breakfast, shared their work, the impact it had on the community, and what help they could use to further their work.
“After Covid” and “before Covid” were phrases that were sprinkled throughout the presentations. It was evident that Covid had negatively impacted the volunteer base, but there were encouraging stories that in spite of the pandemic, organizations had forged ahead and were continuing their work in the community.
Patrick O’Neill, Dunnville Councillor, revealed that plans for a “Volunteer Open House” are in the works for April. The Open House will showcase Dunnville organizations and their volunteering opportunities.
Several organizations have been serving the community for many decades and were recognizing milestone years – Dunnville Hospital and Healthcare Foundation for 50 years, Dunnville Community Theatre for 75 years, Optimist International for 100 years in Canada, and the Dunnville Lions will be celebrating 100 years next year.
Several topics were brought forth during the presentations. One topic was the partnership of organizations within the community, such as Dunnville Horticultural Society and the Rotary to build the Thompson Creek wetland eco-system; Optimists with the Legion, Lions and Rotary for Canada Day in the Park; and the Lions with the Optimists for the Home and Garden Show.
Another topic was promotional marketing – the need to increase the outreach into the community and surrounding area. Marianne Kidd, President of the Dunnville Chamber of Commerce, also emphasized the need to promote “shopping local” since local businesses are essential sponsors for not-for-profit organization fundraisers. The Dunnville Chamber of Commerce has posted a list of the events and contact information for the organizations on their website at dunnvillechamberofcommerce.com/events.
The breakfast ended with suggestions of a “name” for this collective of organizations to replace the “Quint” and will be unveiling a name in the future.
