23 April 2025
Our New Volunteering Program launches in Canada and the United States
We are very excited to launch a new national volunteering program in Canada, extending the success of our "Eyes On Hands On" initiative in the UK across the Atlantic.
We commemorate over 15,000 war dead in Canada and the United States across nearly 3,000 sites throughout North America. These servicemen and women lost their lives whilst training in Canada and the US, succumbed to wounds or illness upon their return from overseas service, or were lost while flying or sailing from Canadian air bases and ports.
Our presence in North America stretches over a vast geographical area to a variety of locations, including First Nations cemeteries, family farm burial grounds, churchyards, municipal cemeteries, and memorials along the shores of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Our volunteers in Canada will perform exceptional work in maintaining these significant, dispersed war grave markers. This initiative enables volunteers to reconnect with history and heritage right on their doorstep, while assisting the CWGC in preserving these war graves for evermore.
Volunteers will be equipped with the knowledge to identify the isolated graves under the Commission’s care and to undertake inspection visits to ensure each grave remains in good condition. The regular feedback from local volunteers enables CWGC’s professional teams to be better directed.
Area Director of the CWGC’s Canada, Americas and Pacific area, David Loveridge said: “We are very excited to launch this new volunteering program, starting in Prince Edward Island. This initiative offers Canadians the opportunity to connect with our rich heritage right on their doorstep and play a vital role in preserving it. As we approach the 80th anniversary of VE Day, this program ensures that we never forget the sacrifice of those who served and that their memory endures for generations to come”
Our programme in the UK was a tremendous success as one volunteer stated: “It makes me proud to make my small contribution to respecting and honouring those who are commemorated – and doing my part. These servicemen are talked about in the course of history, they paid the ultimate price and if we are able to it is important to honour them and remember what they did for us.”
The program will begin in Prince Edward Island, followed by Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in subsequent months. We have ambitious plans to expand the scheme across Canada and the United States, so please keep checking back to see when your area is included.
If you are interested, please sign up by navigating to the Volunteering in Canada Page below.