Retired SaskTel Pioneers Rick Gaucher (l) and Del Jones help out a client with their tax return.

As SaskTel employees, we are known for giving back selflessly to our neighbours and the communities in which we live, work, and serve.

While we do so as individuals, SaskTel also has an ‘x’ factor of super volunteers known as the SaskTel Pioneers who take things to another level!

As we mark National Volunteer Week in Canada (April 14 – 20, 2024), it’s a great time to look back at some of the numbers the Pioneers have compiled.

For example, this past year, the total number of Pioneers (including friends and family) who volunteered for Pioneer activities was 372!

While there are a wide range of activities and projects, the top four volunteer activities this past year were:

• Computers for Schools (CFS) - 6,110 volunteer hours.
• Salvage Sales - 5,504 volunteer hours.
• SaskTel Pioneers Tax Clinic - 3,290 volunteer hours.
• Sewing Projects (including lap quilts, fidget blankets, walker/wheelchair bags, Hug-a-Bears, heart pillows, Turbans for cancer) - 3,392 volunteer hours.

Darrell Liebrecht, the now retired Pioneer Director, is Co-Executive Director of CFS along with fellow retiree Jay Naylor. He said the CFS workshops in both Regina and Saskatoon are very busy places these days.

“We had projected the refurbishment of 4,200 computers,” said Darrell. “By the end of the past fiscal year we actually refurbished almost twice that amount. More than 8,100 computers were refurbished and distributed across the province to different organizations including schools and registered non-profits.”

Volunteers at the workshops are all retired SaskTel Pioneers.

Business is also brisk at the SaskTel Pioneers Tax Clinic in Regina, where Pioneers are once again helping out the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP). The CVITP works with community organizations like the Pioneers to host free personal income tax and benefit filing clinics across the country.

The program helps low-income individuals or families that may lack the knowledge, funds, or language skills to complete a tax return.

“This year we are seeing noticeably more newcomers to Canada, from the Ukraine as well as from many other countries,” said Rick Gaucher, who helps to coordinate the CVITP clinic. “We have 36 volunteers in various roles in the clinic.”

Whether you have computer skills, know your way around a tax return form, or simply want to be around people who thrive on lending a helping hand, the SaskTel Pioneers have something for any SaskTel employee who wants to make a community difference!