National Volunteer Week 2025

As part of National Volunteers Month and National Volunteers Week April 27-May 3, Swim Ontario would like to thank our hard working volunteers who give their time and commitment to help our sport and community on a daily basis. We will be highlighting many of our wonderful volunteers over the next few weeks.

If you haven’t met, or even had a telephone conversation with Mary Jane Smith, you’re missing something incredibly special.

As a teaser, take a stroll through her journey in life, from those early years towards a glorious career. It becomes obvious that Smith has displayed an excessive and remarkable way of bringing success to an enormous group of people.

Quite a compliment – and she deserves it.

Adventurous, passionate, outstanding and a champion in many ways, we haven’t even touched on the huge impact she has had as well as the time devoted to what can be a demanding job as a volunteer. It also includes the duties devoted to being an extremely qualified swim official.

Energized like that battery commercial, Smith seems to never stop consulting, advising, counselling and helping others. It’s what she refers to as being rewarding for her, but more so to people who are receptive to her guidance.

Career counselling and placement, alumni affairs, health and safety advisor, educator, chairman of a summer camp for disadvantaged children, coaching, and the list keeps going for the 75-year-old. Like a train that stops in many communities, Smith has benefitted from a variety of important jobs.

Born in Toronto, Smith has called Peterborough her home for the past 35 years. It’s where she taught at Sir Sanford Fleming College. She was also the director of health and safety, for 20 years, with the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and employed at the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board.

Smith has also worked at Ryerson and the University of Toronto. She was an assistant director of placement for what used to be known as Canada Manpower, and devoted time to a series of what she called “short-lived” positions and contract work.

Spending a fair amount of time as an authority at open water competitions, Smith is predominantly on the pool deck as a Level 5 swim official – that’s the top of the line in Canada. She has also officiated at para events. That’s the abbreviated term used for athletes with physical, visual or intellectual impairments.

Smith is quite concerned about the future of swimming in Ontario. Not enough pools may be one thing along with the constant need for dedicated coaches, but a huge area of distress and anxiety is the need for more senior officials.

“There’s a huge shortage – and we need to do better,” said Smith. “Clubs are struggling to get officials and it’s a serious problem. Parents, in general, don’t want to stick around after their kids are finished swimming. People are just not interested in officiating and don’t want to commit time. We’re short of officials all the way around.”

Swim meets just don’t happen without a required number of volunteers and officials to ensure an event can take place, supervised and qualified individuals are there to ensure rules are followed. Smith claims that the number of meets has diminished because of the shortage of officials.

“In five years, I believe swimming will be very different unless we are able to solve this problem,” she added. “Without those willing to give back, so many of our sports and community programs could not exist or at a cost the public could afford.

“It's a sad story and could have a devastating effect on many activities and programs. Those sports we took for granted as inexpensive will be priced out of the average family possibilities.

“We also need to get back to smaller events and can’t rely on big pools and big meets. I’m also the biggest proponent of open water swimming. You don’t need as many officials and it’s also great for non-elite swimmers.”

A former competitor with a local Toronto swim club, Smith attended Indiana University in Bloomington for graduate school. It wasn’t on an athletic scholarship. A reputable academic institution, she was there to benefit from a school known for the advanced studies in the areas of business and educational administration. She has two master’s degrees and a doctorate in education.

Her first post-secondary achievement, after graduating with honors from Wexford Collegiate, was a three-year diploma in fashion design from Ryerson Polytechnic, where she focussed on marketing and design.

“I believe strongly in giving back to society what others have given to me,” said Smith. “You won’t find me sitting around twiddling my thumbs and I’m not good at sitting in the bleachers at a swim meet,” said Smith, who is in her 30th year as a swim official. “I took courses so that I could contribute. I talk at schools. I like to keep busy and involved in doing something to benefit others.”

As for free time, she finds it too, to quilt.

In the winter, Smith is a devoted downhill skier. That changes in the warmer weather to being a sailor and paddle boarder.

She is also the chairperson of the Board of Directors for Camp Northern Lights – and actively involved in providing an outdoor wilderness experience for disadvantaged children between the ages of nine and 13. Community sponsorships, fundraising efforts and generous donors have contributed to the camp, located in the Haliburton Highlands

“When I volunteer and give back, it’s the most rewarding feeling – more than anything else,” said Smith.

April is a month when people like Smith, are recognized, for their major impact in volunteering. It’s National Volunteer Month - a time to celebrate and highlight the contributions of millions of people in Canada. Individuals who have contributed, in a positive way, towards the lives of others by volunteering their time in communities across the country.

In Canada, National Volunteer Week is from April 27 to May 3 and the theme is “Volunteers Make Waves” – an opportunity to highlight the power and impact of volunteer efforts.

David Grossman is a veteran multi award-winning Journalist and Broadcaster with some of Canada’s major media, including the Toronto Star and SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN, and a Public Relations professional for 50+ years in Canadian sports and Government relations.