Letter to the Editor
Open Letter to Canadians: Leap Year Day and Our Communities 
February 22, 2016
Dear Friends,
Most Canadians have enjoyed a day off work this February, and are now looking at an extra day in their calendar on the 29th.
You’ve had a bit of time to spend with friends and family, to get your chores in order, and now there’s a bonus day coming up this month. Why not consider what you can do with an hour of that day for your community and your country?
You’ll make an extra day’s pay if you work February 29th, or maybe it’s just an extra day to do with what you want? Why not then give an hour or two of your time or wages to help the community and charity organizations that help you and Canadians right across this country?
Our rough calculations suggest that if just 10% of Canada’s population invested an hour of their time or wages we’d see a direct stimulus to our local economies of some $52M (@$15.hr). And if we all gave just an hour on February 29th that’s a half billion dollars for community and charity work. A billion if our governments and businesses were to match such investment – which they could afford given all the extra money they’ll take in with an extra day’s work this year.
And just think of what good works could be done for the benefit of Canadians and their communities?
Whatever the dollars may equate to, February 29th, Leap Year Day 2016, offers an extra day for us all. That’s a day or just an hour that we could choose to spend helping our communities and investing in our country.
This February 29th we’d like to invite all Canadians to consider our heritage as Canada’s 150th birthday approaches. We are lucky to live here, and our community groups and charities do much to make this country great. Perhaps this Leap Year Day Canadians would like to invest just a little of their time or wages to kick-start the next 150 years.
Laurie Gourlay & Jackie Moad
President & Director, VICCS
ps: Related Leap Day coverage can be found at…
<http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/op-ed/laurie-gourlay-feb-29-could-be-leap-day-for-humanity-1.2126763>
‘Feb. 29 could be leap day for humanity’ , Laurie Gourlay / Times Colonist, Dec. 5, 2015
..& <http://www.nanaimobulletin.com/news/368662731.html>
‘Society suggests residents give a little on the leap year’, Chris Bush, Nanaimo News Bulletin, Feb 19, 2016;
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