What You Came Here Looking For Is Waiting for You

Credit: Glenda King

“This island’s greatest treasures aren’t found on any map.”

When you first set foot on Mayne Island, what called out to you? Was it the wide sweep of beaches without a soul in sight? The clean salt air that made you breathe a little deeper? The dream of living in a place where neighbors still know your name, where the pace is slower, and the land itself feels alive?

For many of us, that dream was what brought us here—and it’s what still roots us to this rock today. But there’s a quiet truth woven through island life: the Mayne Island we love doesn’t simply exist on its own. It’s built and tended by the hands of volunteers. Every trail you walk, every festival you attend, every meal delivered to a senior, every fire put out, every library book borrowed—it all happens because people here give their time freely, year after year.

Check out the Lions Directory, pages 11 to 13 – it came out in April. There you’ll find over forty-five volunteer-run groups and nonprofits active on this small island. In a community of just over thirteen hundred year-round residents, that’s not just impressive—it’s extraordinary. And somewhere in those pages, there’s a cause, a project, or a passion that matches what you came here looking for.

Maybe you dreamed of living close to nature: the Mayne Island Conservancy would welcome your help protecting eelgrass meadows and native forests. Maybe you craved community connection: Meals on Wheels, the Recycling Depot, the Agricultural Society, and Emergency Services all rely on willing hands and open hearts. Maybe you sought a simpler life, one grounded in service and shared purpose: groups like the Assisted Living and the Fall Fair organizers are already at work building that future—and would be thrilled to have you join them.

Volunteering doesn’t just help Mayne Island thrive. It can also save your life.

When you give even a little time, you gain something profound in return: connection—with neighbors, with nature, and with a deeper sense of meaning. Studies show that people who volunteer regularly live longer, healthier, and happier lives. They experience lower rates of depression, greater resilience through hard times, and a stronger sense of belonging. Volunteering is one of the few things that strengthens your heart—in every sense of the word.

Here on Mayne, that connection is everywhere. A teenager shelving books at the Library might find a mentor. A parent helping at the Recycling Depot might find a friend. A retiree joining a shoreline clean-up might find renewed purpose just when they feared they were winding down. Even the volunteer firefighter answering a 2 a.m. call might one day find that the skills they gained in service help save their neighbour’s home—or their own.

Volunteering isn’t about grand gestures. It’s about the small, steady acts that, taken together, create the community you love. And if each of us gives just a little, what we receive in return is immeasurable: a stronger island, a deeper belonging, a fuller life.

So take a look at that list in the Lions Directory. Think back to what brought you here, what made you fall in love with this place. Chances are, there’s a group that needs exactly what you have to offer. And waiting at the end of that first small act of giving, you might just find something you didn’t know you were looking for: a place where you are needed, a purpose that fills you, and a life more deeply lived.

Because on Mayne Island, the greatest treasures aren’t hidden.

They’re waiting for you—in the hands you reach out to help, and in the hands that will one day reach back to help you.

Jean-Daniel Cusin
Mayne Island Collective