Latest News | April 2021

Last week to celebrate National Volunteer Week we started a conversation about the unspoken realities of volunteerism. We are continuing to feel all the feelings!  

Unintentional harm is still harm. 

It is difficult to acknowledge that hurt can still happen with the best of intentions. Lots of reasons for this...structures, ignorance, systems not designed for the human. The act of volunteering can result in harm for people. Whether that is the process of recruitment requiring someone to interact with police or whether that is a board meeting that is not a safe place, we all need to own our part in assessing the ways in which we magnify or create harm and oppression.   

Lots of volunteer roles allay guilt but do not address root causes. 

There has been a shift in the past decades where organizations have altered their volunteer roles into a more skilled and flexible place. Volunteerism in most forms still offers a very “thin relationship” (Dean Spade). One can't help but wonder if we dedicated more time and energy to thinking about and addressing the complex and unique problems in our own communities instead of getting the hit of dopamine for something mundane for an industrial charity what we could shift for each other? For our communities?  

Are you uncomfortable again?

Maybe this is still feeling like a lot, maybe you are about to write a second email to tell us exactly why we are way off base, maybe you are feeling defensive of yourself or your organizations. That is still ok. Centre the voices of people in your organization who are underrepresented, do what they recommend, circle back to check to see what still needs to be done. There is still not a checklist for solutions, a certification for completion and perfection is still not possible so just start doing something. 

Still keep on learning.

Inspiration and information for this piece was taken from the below people and spaces:

• NonProfitAF 
• Dr. Helen Timbrell - "What the bloody hell are you doing here" 
• Jonathan VanNess and Dean Spade on Getting Curious
• ProBono Australia
• CommunityWise  

This week is National Volunteer Week here in Canada, a time to celebrate the time, energy, and value that volunteers offer to communities and organizations across the country. Volunteerism and the giving sector have a reputation as a feel-good time and space, it is the warm and fuzzies in a world where these moments can feel few and far between. We should celebrate people for the good work they do but we also need to acknowledge some truths. This is not about to be some big expose on the sector or volunteerism it is just going to outline things we all know but never say. 

Volunteering is an act of privilege. 

It costs on average $1700/year to participate in volunteering. There are many people in our country who do not have the luxury of spare time or energy to dedicate to even thinking about pursuing something that sparks joy in their spare time because their spare time does not exist. They are too busy meeting basic needs for themselves and their families. It means those voices are often missing at the tables in spaces designed to support these same humans. 

Saying everyone is welcome as a volunteer is different from ensuring everyone is welcome. 

In recent qualitative research out of the United Kingdom which collected the stories of BIPOC volunteers and compared them to the experiences of white volunteers. Black, Indigenous and People of Colour volunteers described environments where they felt they had to go over and above to prove their value, battle to make their voices heard, spend extra time and energy to fit in, experience consistent invoking of racial stereotypes and microaggressions. A black woman described her experience of volunteering - "it hurts, it hurts all the time" (Dr. Timbrell) 

Are you uncomfortable?

Maybe this felt like a lot, maybe you are currently composing an email to tell us exactly why we are way off base, maybe you are feeling defensive of yourself or your organizations. That is ok. Centre the voices of people in your organization who are underrepresented, do what they recommend, circle back to check to see what still needs to be done. There is not a checklist for solutions, a certification for completion and perfection is not possible so just start doing something. 

Keep learning.

Inspiration and information for this piece was taken from the below people and spaces:  

• NonProfitAF 
• Dr. Helen Timbrell - "What the bloody hell are you doing here" 
• Jonathan VanNess and Dean Spade on Getting Curious
• ProBono Australia
• CommunityWise  

Great news!!! We are very proud to introduce Virtual Volunteer Centres! These are designed for communities across the country that do not have a physical centre for volunteer engagement but see the benefits of democratizing the volunteer experience. This is a free solution for people who are about thriving communities, organizations, and citizens.

Perhaps you are the mayor, reeve, or council person in your town, or you are the person who plans special events, or you are just the person who knows what is going on! We have created a toolkit to help your community benefit from the connector. 

As a Virtual Volunteer Centre your community will have access to live data about volunteerism in your community, be able to report on the value of volunteerism, shape the future of digital volunteerism and best of all make the experience of organizing volunteers a pleasurable and supported one! 

If you are wondering if this is you or you know for sure and you want to get started, just get in touch! info@volunteerconnector.org

Looking for Work? Here are 7 reasons to consider volunteering.

My name is Michael Slattery, I am an Edmontonian Freelance Photographer. A while back I was watching Tim Ferriss on YouTube. Tim considers himself a human experiment. He tries to master life and documents the results online.  In Fast Inc.'s article, "How to Be the Ultimate Networker, According to Tim Ferriss." 

Tim shares an unusual strategy to find work. Of course when looking for work continue to refine your resume, cover letter and apply. But there might be other strategies to finding work.

If you are looking for work have you considered volunteering?

If you are an artist looking for work, all the more reasons to volunteer, I'll explain below.

Here are 7 reasons to consider volunteering:

• Volunteering gives a break to looking for work. Looking for work can sometimes be depressing and frustrating. Volunteering gets us out of routine, meeting new people. We start feeling connected, appreciated and valued!
• Non-profits welcome the unqualified. I am wanting to branch out into Social Media Marketing. I visited Volunteer Connector in February 2021 to see what opportunities I could find. Lo and behold Defend had a volunteer opportunity for Social Media help. I applied, and told them I am just starting out. I landed the position and am currently serving as a Co-Lead for their Social Media section.
• You will gain experience in your area of choice plus also learn many new skills. My Defend volunteer position has broadened my skills and I am learning public relations and how to write press releases. Non-profits would love to work with photographers, video creators and editors and social media help. 
• Non-profits are in high need for creative work to help them with their online presence. You could do piece work for a series of non-profits and use this in your portfolio. Or you could focus on one non-profit and potentially their full media person. 
• Volunteer work is appreciated and valued.  My experience with Defend so far is they are very happy people are filling roles. They also are graceful when projects are not done, when life gets busy.
• There is a great satisfaction knowing our resources are being used for a cause. There were many positions open at Volunteer Connector. I choose Defend because our values lined up. I feel very fulfilled knowing my time and skills are being used to help other people in need.
• Bonus! You just might land a job with the company, or perhaps there is someone in the company who knows someone who can help you. A big plus is volunteering puts you around people who are kind hearted and like helping out. Who knows they just might lead you to your next position!

I would like to thank the work VolunteerConnector does promoting volunteering! Their services have opened up a door for me to volunteer and grow my skills!

Thank you,

Michael Slattery

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