When Emily Gibson says, "Always, always, always," she is not singing the famous Bon Jovi tune. Instead the volunteer program manager is speaking of the organization's continuous need of volunteers for the 2010 festival. Last year, Pride Toronto boasted 750 volunteers and Gibson wants the same tally for ‘10. But since the 2009 celebrations, only about 100 people have signed up. So Gibson has decided to start as early as February to urge Torontonians to volunteer.

There are three levels to Pride's volunteer program. The first are weekend volunteers who are mostly needed during the Festival (July 2-4). Upon registration, applicants are interviewed by coordinators and given options to cover shifts that are between four to 12 hours. There is a wide array of tasks-from planning the parade to hanging up signs and to barricading the premises.

The second and third tiers are year-round volunteers and coordinators who will belong to one of Pride's 25 committees. Each committee will be supervised by two coordinators who are expected to log in 10 to 20 hours per week from February onwards. Volunteers are encouraged to put in two to five hours a week. All volunteers are also asked to participate in training sessions to become familiarized with Pride Festival procedures.

Though there is no monetary compensation, Gibson says there are many advantages to volunteering such as resume-building and feeling a sense community. Gibson started as an office administrator for Pride in August 2008 and has since been promoted to her position. She says the rewards of her job have been working with the volunteers. "The best part about my job is seeing how many people sign up for the weekend and seeing how willing people are to essentially donate their time. The festival cannot happen without the volunteer support that we have."

Volunteers can fill out the registration form at http://www.makepridehappen.com/. All volunteers must be at least 16 years old. For more information on festival weekend assignments and Pride committees, visit the website or e-mail Emily Gibson at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

-By Christal Gardiola, Media Committee Journalist