Meet the super-volunteer of the Maples

The Maples

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/10/2023 (888 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Community volunteering is a major pleasure for Paramjit Singh. It’s amazing how many volunteer hours he puts in every week at several local sports, health and wellness organizations.

Singh has been residing in Winnipeg for only nine years. However, from the time he arrived the Maples resident began participating in several sport and cultural agencies.

“I love meeting people and keeping active. Volunteering is certainly a source of happiness,” he said.

One of Singh’s favourite places to volunteer is Seven Oaks General Hospital. Some of his duties include distributing library books to patients, as well as sorting, packing and distributing medical masks, safety glasses and related items to nurses, paramedics and other staff members. He also assists during special events at the hospital.

The Maple Community Centre is another place where Singh has been volunteering and participating for several years. Apart from serving on the board of directors of the centre, he is a lead volunteer with its tennis, cricket, pickleball and seniors’ programs.

Singh is also a certified yoga instructor and gives regular yoga tips to the Maples seniors group. For the 2023 World Yoga Day in June, Singh co-sponsored and facilitated a free yoga session and refreshments at Maples Community Centre. He also volunteers at the annual Filipino Street Festival and at the community’s annual kabaddi tournament. (Kabbadi is a team wresting/tag game.)

He has also conducted free yoga demonstrations for newcomers at Seven Oaks Immigrant Services Centre for several years, and he also organizes storytelling exchanges between new Canadians and high school students.

In his working life, Singh served in the Indian army as a radio communications specialist for 29 years, and then as a high school physical education teacher for another 12 years.

The busy super-volunteer manages his time that he can also hold down a part-time job as a safety security officer. He is also very involved with his two young grandchildren and serves on the parent council at their school.