Latest News | October 2022

We love to feature guest writers here on the blog.  ​Do have a knack for storytelling? Are you passionate about engaged communities? Do you care about people finding their interests and expressing their talents in a way that benefits others?

We are looking for people to share their experience with volunteerism, mutual aid or just generally trying to be a good human as guest writers on our blog! 

Stories should be 200-400 words and reflect a personal experience. Feeling interested but also a little stumped? Here are some ideas to get you started:

• A volunteer opportunity that shifted your perspective.
• An experience every human should have.
• A cause that taught you something.
• A beautiful moment brought to you by helping someone
• Volunteering as a way to build community. 
• An unexpected skill you used or learned by helping someone or volunteering for an organization.

Stories can be submitted directly via info@volunteerconnector.org, please include a couple sentences about yourself so we can share that when we publish. 

This is a chance to utilize your writing and editing abilities. An opportunity to be published on a national platform that supports people engaging in their community. A full heart knowing your words are inspiring other people to find a cause they care about.

There is a lovely place in Alberta affectionately known as S'more and it is the latest Regional Partner to join us here on VolunteerConnector. Some fun facts about Strathmore; 

• the original townsite was located 6km north of its current location due to an irrigation system
• it hosts a great rodeo every summer
• it has a restaurant with train car in front
• they have been on VolunteerConnector for less than a week and they already have 4 organizations recruiting and 317 volunteers looking for opportunities! Go Strathmore Go!

Interested in your community joining the VolunteerConnector team? Get in touch info@volunteerconnector.org 

Between the booming metropolis of Toronto and the Las Vegas of Canada, Niagara Falls, lies the city of Hamilton, within that city is Mohawk College and let me tell you they are doing some very cool things within their volunteer program! We had the pleasure of chatting with the Student Life Team there to learn more about post-secondary volunteerism.

Their volunteer program is based around 'honouring the whole student'. Curious about what that looks like in practice? It first starts with acknowledging the volunteer is a whole human, not just a heartbeat that fulfills a task. After that it's about ensuring their basic needs as a human are met so that they are free to volunteer, that looks different for every human but most common for the student population is food and transportation. Students cannot think about volunteering if they are hungry, worried about how they are going to eat in the coming week. Transportation is costly and margins are increasingly tighter for everyone, students are the same. We talk a lot about removing barrier for volunteers but this is deeper, this is about acknowledging the basic inequities that prevent people from even thinking about incorporating volunteerism into their life.

So many organizations are run completely by volunteers, so much connection and good work happens through those volunteer spaces but I guess this is also a call to look at the person across the table in those meeting or in the zoom box and consider how we are taking care of each other. 

We will certainly be thinking about how to honour the whole volunteer in the next position we recruit for. 

Get recommendations — specifically tailored to you.

We're launching a new feature that will help you find your perfect volunteering opportunity: personalized recommendations. These suggested opportunities are custom designed just for you, based on your unique combination of interests and abilities.
 

Looking for the perfect fit? Keep your profile up to date with the Causes and Activities you are interested in and the Skills you have, and that will help us give you better recommendations.

Your Connection to Volunteer Experiences,
The VolunteerConnector Team