Nearly a quarter of Ontarians surveyed say they would catch up on their sleep.

Caught in the time crunch? With the clocks about to “fall back” and give Ontarians a precious extra hour for one day, Big Brothers Big Sisters and FedEx Express Canada are asking people in the province and across Canada to join them on Facebook to discuss how they would use a single hour to make the world a better place.

To start the dialogue, the two organizations asked Angus Reid to poll people about their time priorities, and the results show just how over worked, stressed out and time crunched Ontarians actually are.

Consider how your time preferences compare.

Ontario versus national findings:

• Nearly a quarter of Ontarians surveyed (23 per cent) were so time deprived they said they would use their extra hour to sleep, compared to 22 per cent nationally.

• Another 28 per cent would spend their hour catching up on chores and household errands versus 24 per cent in other parts of Canada.

• Relationships and health were priorities – 20 per cent of Ontarians would invest their hour in family and friends and 13 per cent would exercise. Nationally, 25 per cent said they would spend their hour with family and friends and the 14 per cent said they would exercise.

• Not surprisingly, the last thing time-stressed Ontarians – like other Canadians – want to do is work. A solitary four per cent in the province said they would spend their hour on the job versus three per cent nationally.

• A scant five per cent of Ontarians would pursue personal interests or hobbies, compared to six per cent in other parts of Canada.

• Only eight per cent of Ontarians would devote their extra hour to community service, compared to five per cent nationally.

(Note: Numbers may not add up due to rounding.)

“The FedEx Value of an Hour Survey sends a clear message: Ontarians like people right across this country need to make room in their busy lives for their human needs,” says Bruce MacDonald, president of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada.

“Imagine what could happen to levels of personal satisfaction and connectedness if everyone could free up just one hour to improve life in their communities.

“As for the sleep deprived among us, there is no better way to revitalize than helping others.”

The fact that Ontarians are forgoing community service because of the frantic pace of their lives should come as no surprise. What is less known is that being a volunteer is a proven path to personal happiness and self-fulfillment. In fact, research clearly shows that community volunteers believe they get far more out of donating their time than they give.

In a bid to inspire people to make time to volunteer, the two organizations want to engage people in a broad Facebook discussion about the power of a single hour to change lives and strengthen communities.

“Too many of us think that being a volunteer inherently involves a major time commitment,” says MacDonald. “The truth is that even small acts by caring people can make a big difference. We are asking Ontarians to think outside themselves and answer a simple question: What would you do to change the world if you had one hour?”

People can voice their ideas about the value of an hour by visiting http://www.bbbsc.ca/facebook.

Everyone is invited to join the discussion and upload videos describing how their lives are being stretched by today’s hectic pace and how they would make the world a better place with a single hour.

Two video or comment submissions will be randomly drawn to each win a return air travel voucher for two to any destination served by WestJet. Contest conditions and rules are posted on BBBSC’s Facebook page.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada is the country’s leading youth mentoring organization, providing quality adult mentoring services for more than 33,000 local children and youth. ■