A family from Steinbach will contribute about 100 hours of volunteer time at the Canada Summer Games which begin Friday night in Winnipeg. Michelle Sawatzky along with husband Chris and son Paxton will give their time working at the indoor volleyball facility. Sawatzky says they were inspired to volunteer after participating in the Manitoba Summer Games last year in Steinbach where they led Team Eastman to a gold medal in volleyball.

Michelle Sawatzky in her Canada Summer Games volunteer shirt."We didn't have to do anything. We got to go and we got to eat and sleep and play and enjoy a memory of a lifetime because all those people in those volunteer shirts made food, served food, there were scorekeepers and timekeepers. We looked at each other after that moment (winning the gold), and actually in the gym still, we said, 'We need to volunteer for the Canada Games because that's coming up in Winnipeg next year.' We were fired up and so we're excited about it."

Sawatzky says there is a significant time commitment involved in volunteering at the Canada Summer Games.

"They ask for 36 hours. We're in the second week. We'll be going four days that week from 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. I think Chris and I are especially excited because, while one of our boys will be at Red Rock Bible Camp that week, the other one, Paxton, will be volunteering alongside us. He's just getting into all of this sports stuff. He played at the Manitoba Games and we want them to realize that when they grow up and are part of our community that they'll give back as well."

Sawatzky and her husband will manage the indoor volleyball facility while Paxton will be working on the floor as a ball boy and floor mopper. Having played volleyball in the Canada Summer Games years ago, Sawatzky says this is a chance for people to see the country's up and coming stars.

"We're going to be seeing some of the kids we're going to be watching in the next two-to-four-six-eight years in the Olympic Games, who will represent Canada there so it's pretty cool."