GOLD WINNER
COVID-19 testing sites
SILVER WINNER
SPCA Nova Scotia
5 Scarfe Court, Dartmouth
website
BRONZE WINNER
Feed Nova Scotia
67 Wright Avenue
website
This year’s gold winner for Best Place To Volunteer is the same force that kept Nova Scotians as safe as possible throughout the pandemic: COVID-19 testing sites. The volunteer-run testing program led by Dr. Lisa Barrett is unlike anything else in the country. Beginning with its first testing pilot in November 2020 at The Dome, the motivated and caring volunteers “set the tone” for an incredible experience, testing site lead Barb Goodall says. “The vibe at the testing site has always been so good,” Goodall says. The COVID testing volunteers are a vibrant community of people who want to help keep their friends and family safe, Goodall says, and they have been leaders in directing and planning the province’s testing plans. “It’s been the secret sauce to a big, big impact for Nova Scotia’s pandemic response. And it’s really volunteer-led,” Goodall says. Several thousand Nova Scotians have volunteered at different testing sites and they have swabbed enough noses to complete more than a million tests. “It really has become this amazing community with a diverse group of people who know each other now and keep coming back! I have to send the biggest thank you to these volunteers,” Goodall says. She also wants to extend a thanks to the droves of people who lined up to be tested.
