Latest News | August 2021

If we stop to think about what is the biggest moment in our life that we really need help, and someone to take care of us, probably we can say our baby times. One little child needs somebody to help them to survive. Thinking about this situation you could only imagine a little baby, with only a few days in life abandoned at the hospital, without protection. This situation is not a fiction story, about a movie, or something else, but unfortunately it is totally real. I would not like to start the story this way but it is how I gave my time to help someone.

To give your time to someone, to totally help is the most awesome experience of my life. It has changed my whole life, specifically how I look at the world and those around me. I met that child in a terrible situation - alone at the hospital. I was employed at the office of an NGO, volunteering at night taking care of children living there. I felt love the first moment I held that baby in my arms. I had the opportunity to feed him and observe him while he was sleeping.  I was totally involved in that experience. A few months later I had the opportunity to give him to his new family. I could feel how much love and appreciation someone had for someone giving their time and the impact on someone’s life.

Volunteering is not about donating and charity events, it is about so much more. It is about a routine that people on the outside do not see. If you have the opportunity to impact lives, and make some difference to someone, don’t think about it, just do it. These actions enrich our community and incentivize others to be a volunteer.  

Thank You,

Mayara Keron

On July 6 we gathered on the good ole' zoom with our regional partners from across the country to share some helpful updates on the platform! There was attendance from coast to coast, from Sunshine Coast, British Columbia to Miramichi, New Brunswick. Always soul affirming to congregate with humans who care deeply about their communities. The updates have been live on the platform for a couple weeks, but it was a great chance to walk through it and answer questions! The summit also featured a presentation from our very own Doug (yep, we own one of those rare creatures). Doug shared that we are on track to see 3 million visits to the volunteerconnector.org this year and that we continue to see growth in communities (welcome to our newest regional partners City of Kimberley and Red Deer Community Foundation). Doug also shared our continued commitment to social justice and decolonizing our thinking, system of volunteering and the VolunteerConnector platform. 

We were also pleased to welcome Deborah Pike from Volunteer Canada who shared information from a report that was published in December 2020 called 'Volunteering Lens of Covid-19'. Of note was that of the organizations who responded to the survey almost half anticipate to continuing offering virtual volunteer roles through the fall of 2021. Thank you, Deborah for taking the time and sharing the work Volunteer Canada has been up to! 

If you want to get on the guest list for the next one get in touch (info@volunteerconnector.org). It is a cool bunch of people to hang out with!

We like to connect with people across Canada and see what they are up to. We recently connected with some awesome people in Sudbury who have been rocking volunteerism through the pandemic. They partnered with the City of Greater Sudbury to create Virtual Service Hubs to help increase digital literacy, internet access and ensure residents were able to access critical services that went online during the restrictions.  COVID - Virtual Activity Pods also served a critical role in support of seniors in the Sudbury to stay connected and also complete project together that benefitted the community like knitting winter-wear and writing thank-you notes for frontline workers. 

They took on those additional projects on top of their normal work which includes supporting anyone interested in volunteering in and around Sudbury with a special focus on supporting people who are confronted with systemic barriers in accessing a volunteer experiences. 

In chatting with Megan it was clear the team is passionate about their community and making sure people feel like they belong. Very inspiring!

So if you ever find yourself staring up at a Big Nickel and thinking about getting engaged in your community or connecting with a cool causes then go hang out with the team at Volunteer Sudbury. We look forward to continuing to see what they get up to and are so glad we met!

If you are in Ontario and want to chat with us to tell us about volunteerism in your area ... we would love to hear from you: info@volunteerconnector.org.