The On Canada Project
Indian Residential School Survivors Society
University of Alberta - Indigenous Canada
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls
We constantly assess how the VolunteerConnector is working for people interested in volunteering and for the organizations that use it. There are a ton of ways we do this, mostly it is about listening. We know the best way to serve communities across Canada to listen to the humans who utilize the platform, what they feel like is awesome or the spots they think could use a little attention. We also listen to the data; we look at what is unusual, weird, what makes us go huh?
The results are awesome, it means a continually evolving platform that is informed by the experience of real humans. People we love and who love us.
When you see changes on volunteerconnector.org it is the result of hundreds of hours research, trials, and conversations. And love. We take the space we hold in this ecosystem seriously. Our team spends our time, energy and resources on making volunteerconnector.org the very best so everyone else can focus on their vital work. We are so grateful for all the communities that have trusted us in supporting their citizens engaging in things that they care about. We can't wait to meet and welcome more people into the VolunteerConnector coterie (I looked up a lot of words...this one felt right!).
For the longest time since I can remember, I had never been a fan of little children. All the screaming, crying, messiness - it just drove me insane. People would look at me like I was an alien from an outer planet when I told them I very much disliked kids. Now, however, you can find me daydreaming about what it would be like to have my own kids someday. So, how did that change? Long story short, volunteering changed my entire outlook on children.
I first started volunteering out of sheer desperation. Applications for a specific high school I wanted to attend were drawing to a close, and they required a certain amount of volunteer hours. The hours I currently had in my bank? Zero. I know, my motivations for donating my time weren’t all that noble. But, we all have to start somewhere, right? Well, after countless hours of searching, I came up with one possible opportunity. Unfortunately, though, the opportunity involved helping kids with their bible study at my church. Biggest. Nightmare. Ever. Reluctantly, I headed towards my first shift. Two hours later, I was drained. The next shift rolled around, and I was in a debate with myself over whether to go or not. Finally, my morals poked at my sides, and I dragged myself to the church. This persisted for the next couple of months. Despite my earlier hesitations, however, I began to notice a change in myself. I was so much more open-minded, and the kids there were starting to grow on me. The way they would look up at you adoringly when you read aloud, and the way they beamed when you gave them a high five. Soon enough, I began to look forward to my upcoming shifts.
Through this experience, I have learned that beautiful things don’t come without hardship. Although I endured countless hours of wailing children, I was also rewarded with the sacred relationship I formed with them. I have also learned that persistence is key to success. If I had not pushed myself through those first few weeks, I never would have found myself here now. I hope that my story can encourage others to persevere, as there will always be a prize at the end.
Thank you,
Yuri Choi
One of our fav people, Adam Grant, wrote a widely shared article in the past couple weeks about our current state "languishing". The zoom conversations that I am having where people have the energy to have their cameras on involve a lot of blank stares. I, myself have been trying to complete my online grocery order for 2 weeks. It's a time. We are all holding our breath and putting one foot in front of another.
The bandwidth required for taking a new volunteer role or imagining if that gala fundraiser can happen in the fall may not be present right now. It is ok, this is where mircovolunteering comes in. Liking, sharing, commenting on social media is a little something to elevate a cause you care about. It matters.
Check out this awesome example from the cool people at GlobalMedic!
Want to see how we compare to the latest data released from Statistics Canada from 2018?
Younger people most likely to volunteer? Same!
Millennial and Baby Boomer women had higher rates of volunteering than men within the same generations – Totally
Event organization and fundraising most common types of formal volunteering – Um, what?
People are really into informal volunteering – Yeah, of course!
Young people love disseminating information? YUP!
