Latest News | September 2021

We did a blog post months ago about Adam Grant's thoughts on languishing. He has since done a TED Talk on the topic with heavy emphasis on MarioCart.

Additionally, someone very wise shared last week that buckets do not get filled to the brim all at once nor through big cups, it is unfortunately through little tablespoons. In case that is where you are this week here are a couple of tablespoons from us to you ...

Fall colours, the leaves are glorious and there are things still blooming. 

Terry Fox, he is inspiring and he was all about caring for others. Terry's Story.

Sweater weather, it is the season for cool ​mornings, evenings, breezes and warm sunshine. 

Small talk (*in small doses), after all the isolations it is nice talk to people. 

Micheala Coel's Emmy acceptance speech, it was really beautiful.

It is a big question. Time is an allocatable resource and very few people sit back and say they have too much of it, especially with a plethora of streaming services out there. Not going to sugar coat it but when the answer to this is "to feel good" or "be involved in your community" the blood pressure rises and  "NO! No! Do better!" is shouted at the ceiling. 

When we have asked volunteers to share their experiences engaging in community not one of them says those things. Not one. They talk about how they could use skills that they felt helped someone or a cause, they talked about feeling seen, they talked about realizing a passion, about meeting friends they now have for life, about moving the dial on a topic that kept them up at night, about having a reason to get up in the morning, about making healthier lifestyle choices, about the epic Christmas party, about teaching their children or grandchildren about taking care of each other, about getting a letter of reference for a post secondary program, about finding pockets of joy, about the insider or early access to something, about expressing themselves, sometimes it is even about the amazing t-shirt they got!

So this is the challenge to any of the thousands of entities out there looking for the privilege of engaging people in volunteerism, be bold in promises of why! Because engaging in community offers hundreds of opportunities to change peoples lives and we need to be specific and explicit about that potential. 

We want to encourage everyone to get out and vote. As you think about that sense of community and belonging that motivates you to volunteer, we wonder if that same spirit can be used next week.

What if you did not think about you on Monday, September 20?

Wild idea here at volunteerconnector.org as we close in on the federal election next week - what if you did not think about yourself when you cast your ballot next week? Bonkers I know! It is your vote! You're right! You have been issued a card in the mail with YOUR name on it! There are things that are important to YOU! There is a whole platform dedicated to seeing where you land in the spectrum of opinions! Side note: it is worth doing if you have not tried it (https://votecompass.cbc.ca/canada)

Hear us out on the not thinking of you thing though ...

We are in year two of pandemic, things look different depending on where you are in the country but safe to say there is universal languishing. The news and social media can all feel like a lot. We are all tired. So very tired. When you go to cast your vote on Monday it might be worth considering how someone else might vote who maybe might not be able to or who would appreciate if their vote was magnified. Someone whose life might depend on the outcome. We don't have the answers but we do feel strongly that we are all in this together and we have to take care of each other. Here is a very incomplete list of fellow humans who one might consider the views of when participating in democracy: 

• someone who lost their home in a wildfire this year 
• someone whose relative did not come home from a residential school 
• someone who lives in an encampment 
• someone who has an opiod addiction
• someone who has had interactions with the criminal punishment system 
• someone who navigates the world with a disability 
• someone who is new to Canada 
• someone ...

... it might even be worth seeking out that person and having a conversation with them before Monday on what they think.

For all the information you need to vote check out Elections Canada.

The inboxes have been pretty quiet the past 2 weeks but as the leaves start to change and we start seeing those big yellow buses it feels like the energy starts to shift. It seems like as good a time as any to check in! "Wow you are a real person" is an exclaimation we often hear when returning a voicemail or answering an email. There seems to be genuine shock that in a digital space there are indeed real people behind the screens. Perhaps we have all been conditioned with chat robots and elevator music while on hold but yes we are indeed 'real people' here at volunteerconnector.org

In the middle of August we gathered for our holiday lunch, it was rainy and there was a lovely view of a lagoon. We mostly talked about the cool birds we had seen recently and our garden successes from the year. Highlights include a hydrangea that finally bloomed, many roses, a bountiful herb harvest and pumpkins that are thriving on milk! On the fowl front we are all dazzled by birds of prey- osprey, bald eagles and colour there were a couple gold finch sightings and a family of North American Ruddy Ducks. So we are real indeed real people who are always happy to chat about volunteering, community, plants and birds.