Without volunteers, many community organizations wouldn’t have the ability or staff needed to function. An upcoming week will honor these volunteers.

The national Voluntary Action Center sent information to volunteer-orientated organizations, informing them of the proclaimed week, which runs from April 21 to 27. The week, dubbed “Volunteers—Hearts At Work” is recognized nationally as well as locally.

Floann Hamilton, a volunteer coordinator at the Voluntary Action Center of Sycamore, said each individual organization would decide what special activities will honor their volunteers.

“Often we overlook the scope of the contributions made by our community’s volunteers,” she said.

Another purpose of the week is to encourage people to volunteer and to point out the “wide gamut” of organizations to volunteer for, she said.

“Volunteers are essential if we are to address the problems that are affecting each of our communities today,” said George Romney, chairman of the board of VOLUNTEER.

“We’ve looked too long for government to solve these problems and they’re not going to go away without the strong involvement of our citizens,” Romney said.

About 54 percent of Americans 18 years or older—about 98 million people—volunteer an average of four hours a week, according to a recent study.

Hamilton said one of the purposes of the center is to help people who want to volunteer for organizations to get in touch with those organizations.

The center also sends out a list of 30 organizations which need volunteers. The list contains information about the organizations and the kinds of volunteers the organizations need.

Sycamore’s center itself has several services which require volunteers, including Transvac, which provides transportation to senior citizens and the handicapped.

Transvac also carries “Meals on Wheels,” which provides food to people who are homebound, such as people who are recovering from serious illnesses.

Area residents are invited to take part in National Volunteer Week activities. For more information about the week or information on how to volunteer, contact Hamilton at 758-3932.