Volunteering in Toronto

For Immediate Release
March 4th, 2010

Toronto, ON
• Volunteer Toronto partners with The Ministry of Citizenship & Immigration for the 3rd Annual CHANGE THE WORLD Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge, April 18th to May 9th

Starting on April 18th during National Volunteer Week and continuing through to May 9th, Volunteer Toronto and the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration will be challenging 1000 Toronto youth to ChangeTheWorld through 3 hours of volunteer service. Environmental clean-up, ribbon-making for breast cancer and aids and a number of other opportunities will be available.

In its 3rd year, the Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge is a partnership between the Ontario Volunteer Centre Network and local volunteer centres to provide high school youth with local opportunities to volunteer during National Volunteer Week and beyond. ChangeTheWorld Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge provides the opportunity for youth to begin volunteering, grow their job skills and become a part of something greater while giving back to their communities.

“Youth volunteers are the next generation of city-builders and thought-leaders,” says Deborah Gardner, Executive Director of Volunteer Toronto. “With the job skills and experience volunteering provides, they can make a real change today while being empowered to address the needs of tomorrow. The Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge provides a starting point for that process.”

Despite statistical evidence showing otherwise , “The highest rates of volunteering were found among young Canadians”, (Statistics Canada) youth are often stereotyped as disengaged with their communities. ChangeTheWorld Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge gives youth the opportunity not only to contribute to their communities and the world but the capacity to confront this misconception head on.

Volunteer Toronto will be documenting the stories of youth and the causes they aid through the challenge through social media and microsite launching March 18th, 2010.

“You can change the world. Take up this challenge and volunteer and help make your community, your province and your world a better place,” said Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

About Volunteer Toronto
For 37 years Volunteer Toronto has been promoting volunteerism and connecting people with volunteer opportunities. Volunteer Toronto leads and interacts along the diverse continuum of volunteer participation including: age, ethnicity, skills and abilities, source of interest and opportunity. As a destination point for information on volunteerism, Volunteer Toronto is: considered expert in volunteer trends and the resource of choice for professional support, consultation and training.
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Media Contact:
Jessica Reynolds, Public Relations + Communications Director, Volunteer Toronto
jreynolds@volunteertoronto.ca     416-961-6888

There are articles in every corner of the internet that urge boomers to write a memoir or detail their stories for the future generations, to document their experiences to share with children and loved ones when they’re gone.  On the face of it, this storytelling appears noble.  In reality, it seems rather defeatist.  We all know life doesn’t stop at retirement, so why act like it does?  There isn’t just a past to document, but a future to create.  Volunteering can be that future.

Instead of sitting around the house reminiscing about the past (and facing the potential health risks of sitting around all day) why not become active in your community?  As with theatre and creative writing, the best moments in our lives are the ones where we show instead of tell.  Whether you’re volunteering on your own or with family and friends there are more than a million ways to demonstrate your values, skills and experience to your community and the world.

Top 5 Reasons to Volunteer in Retirement

1. The Health Benefits of Volunteering

   Taken from here referencing this study by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

   • A study of adults age 65 and older found that the positive effect of volunteering on physical and mental health is due to the personal sense of accomplishment an individual gains from his or her volunteer activities.
   • Another study found that volunteering led to lower rates of depression in individuals 65 and older.
   • A Duke study found that individuals who volunteered after experiencing heart attacks reported reductions in despair and depression – two factors that that have been linked to mortality in post-coronary artery disease patients.
   • An analysis of longitudinal data found that individuals over 70 who volunteered approximately 100 hours had less of a decline in self-reported health and functioning levels, experienced lower levels of depression, and had more longevity.
   • Two studies found that volunteering threshold is about 100 hours per year, or about two hours a week. Individuals who reached the threshold enjoyed significant health benefits, although there were not additional benefits beyond the 100-hour mark.

2. Share Your Passion and Values with Family and Friends

   Volunteering can help you illustrate your passion, values and personal interests.  Organizing a walk for cancer, volunteering at a local humane society, helping out at a shelter or volunteering your time to mentor youth – there are more options than are hours in the day and thousands of charities or non-profits in need of help.  Whatever your interests are you can find them in volunteering.

3. Use your Skills and Experience to Effect Real Change

   Many people stereotype volunteer jobs as low-level, tedious and unfulfilling.  In fact, there are many skilled volunteer opportunities in communities across Canada and the world.  Board of Director positions, consultations, administrative assistance and other functions requiring a high level of skill open up all the time.  Also available are jobs that require a more refined emotional intelligence and ability to connect with people.  In these positions you may find yourself visiting with critically ill persons or working on a helpline.  Whatever your strengths there is a place for you to use them.

4. Explore New Interests

   Were you an accountant always interested in painting but who never had the time to pursue it?  Helping others such as investing your time in an after-school arts program can help re-awaken an interest or open up new possibilities.

5. Help Others and Leave a Legacy of Change

   Though we put this at number 5 on the list we really were just saving the best for last.  Volunteering is about helping others.  There are many benefits for the volunteer, yes, but the main goal and payoff is not centered around the self but around others.  The most powerful stories we share with our loved ones are not the ones we write down but those that we share together.  Writing is an act for the self; volunteering is an act for everyone.  You can make difference in your life, in your families lives and in the lives of those you help by becoming an active volunteer in your community.  When we say “Leave a Legacy of Change” we mean that you can be remembered for you did and shared, not just what you wrote.

Click Here for the Volunteer Toronto Opportunities Search Engine to Get Involved

Volunteering works!

More and more immigrants are finding that volunteerism is a great way to embrace their new country

Peeyush Agnihotri, originally printed in Canadian Immigrant Magazine

Enter Calgary Multicultural Centre and 24-year-old Gramme Chen greets you at the front desk with a big smile. The young Chinese immigrant answers phone calls, helps customers and does a bunch of professional chores, just like any other office employee. Except that she is not an employee and she’s not given wages for what she does.

Chen, an ambitious accounting professional, who emigrated from Hong Kong in July 2008, is a volunteer. Her volunteer position is giving her plenty of valuable Canadian experience, giving her a boost to her resumé and has exposed her to lots of new people.

“Love and marriage brought me to this beautiful country from Hong Kong, where I was an accounting professional,” she explains.

“I decided to volunteer to gain some insight into the Canadian office administration and accounting fields,” Chen says, adding that volunteering is proving to be a good a step on her Canadian career path.

Chen even attributes her good command of English to volunteering.

“My English is raw no more. I can now speak with a lot more fluency, and in a Canadian accent,” Chen proclaims confidently.

Like Chen, many new immigrants all across Canada are finding that volunteering is a perfect way to settle into their new society. More immigrants are volunteering by helping the elderly, overseeing school excursions, filling out tax forms and translating documents.

“Volunteering is a nice way to put immigrants into a comfort zone, and make them build up their confidence level,” explains Deborah Gardner, executive director of Volunteer Toronto. “A tangible outcome is that new immigrants are able to top up their resumé with Canadian experience, and also gather some references on the way — a process so important on the employment route.”

She adds: “I can summarize that [immigrant volunteers’] contributions is acknowledged well and, though not a rule, I have known cases where hiring has taken place from amongst them.”

Ghebrehiwet Hailit — an Eritrean immigrant who volunteers for Immigrant Services
Calgary as an interpreter — has a different reason for taking action.

“By way of interpreting in Arabic and Tigriny, I am able to network socially within my own community and outside it. This way, I learn both from my own people, as well as from this country,” he says.

Hailit, a home-care professional who arrived in Canada nearly two years ago, believes that volunteering will go a long way in helping him accomplish his studies in social work.

The immigrant edge
Karen Franco, communication director for Volunteer Calgary believes that volunteering is truly a great way for newcomers to explore their skills and bridge the gap to employment.

“It’s not only about the skills that organizations require, but it is also about those that immigrants bring with them. In all, by an exchange, it is a nice way for new citizens to refresh old skills and establish new ones,” she says.

The volunteer trend is catching on — it’s win-win situation for everyone involved. You can get started with volunteerism by checking out the following established volunteer outlets:

Volunteer Toronto Opportunity Search

Peeyush Agnihotri, originally printed in Canadian Immigrant Magazine

The recent recession’s impact on the job market is well known and documented. According to Statistics Canada, “In October 2009, employment in Canada was down 400,000 from the peak in October 2008… During the same period, the unemployment rate rose from 6.3% to 8.6%.” While some recovery has begun the effects of this prolonged period of higher unemployment will no doubt affect the employment market and workers across Canada for many years to come.  From new graduates to mid-career executives, boomers to new comers, there wasn’t a group left untouched in the wake of this downturn.Whether you’re searching for a new job or trying to secure a promotion, volunteerism can help you get where you need to go.

Top Five Ways Volunteer Jobs Can Help Your Career

1. Fill in periods of un(der)employment by actively contributing to your community to showcase your skills, dedication and work ethic.

Laid-off?  Returning to work after a prolonged absence?  Volunteering can help fill in the gaps in your employment history while keeping your skills sharp.

2.  Thinking about a career change or just starting your career?  Volunteer to defeat the biggest catch-22 you’ll face: needing experience to get experience.

Employers want someone with knowledge and familiarity in the field.  If you’re thinking about changing or starting a new career, you’ll most likely need industry experience to get you started.  Volunteerism can help get you that experience.  Try joining a board or volunteering your talent for a local organization.

3.  Expand your network to access a broader job market

Volunteering really is for everyone: executives, entrepreneurs and others in hiring positions are active in their communities.  Whether you’re volunteering on a charitable board or helping to raise a house in your community, volunteering can help you network to find the elusive hidden job market.

4.  Highlight your other important skills not covered by your professional work history

You may never have been a professional teacher or a project manager but that doesn’t automatically mean you’re unable to act as a project lead.  Volunteerism helps to show the mental muscles you’ve been flexing outside of the office and can help you differentiate yourself from other candidates for promotion or employment.

5.  Show how your values align with those of the organization

Corporate Social Responsibility is a increasingly important to organizations big and small via Employee Volunteer Programs.  These programs get employees out into the community and actively contributing to the places they live and work.  Whether your goal is to get a new job, secure a promotion or demonstrate your commitment to the company during these tough times, volunteering can help you show how your values align with those of the company.

Get your career on track:  Go to Volunteer Toronto’s  opportunity search engine to find volunteer jobs in and around the Toronto area.

More resources on volunteerism and work:

A recent article in The Province, a Vancouver B.C. newspaper discussed the benefits of volunteering to test career moves.
Volunteering has positive impact on career says US survey
Stuck in a career rut?

Last week we held a training session in partnership with the Social Economy Centre at the University of Toronto led by Dr. Laurie Mook , Director of the centre.  Managers and Coordinators of Volunteers learned the basics of Social Accounting: how do to it, when to do it and why.  Sitting in on the class were number of us from Volunteer Toronto.  Our conclusion?  One word: wow.

Non-profits everywhere are urged to tell their stories.  In the subway recently a Toronto hospital put up an add detailing the lives of patients going through medical treatment in the first few hours of a traumatic injury and over a span of years when dealing with a disease such as cancer.  These ads are an excellent example of non-profit storytelling, taking us from the need to the resources required to treat the need to the people that are affected.  On the face of it, it  appears that volunteerism plays no role in in the situations dealt with in this ad as the implied “ask” in this case is not for volunteers qualified to be ER staff but for donations to fund everything from doctors to research and beyond.   Appearances can be deceiving.  Certainly, volunteers do not play a role: they are not the doctors, nurses or paramedics that perform everyday miracles.  However, while the contribution that volunteers make in this instance is both indirect and hidden it is no less important than the contributions made by donors.  Whereas a donation of money or goods can be tabulated, a donation of time has traditionally been much more difficult to quantify and thus, report.  In this case, the behind the scenes contributions of volunteers absorb some of the overhead costs associated with running a non-profit or business allowing donations and other funding to be utilized in other areas.

Below is a brief description of two volunteer positions at a Toronto hospital and the skills required to do the jobs.

Clinic Support

• Greet and welcome patients and visitors
• Assist with various administrative tasks including photocopying, filing, phone calls
• Assisting the public with general inquiries as to location of offices and clinics.

Admin Support

• Greet and welcome patients and visitors/employees
• Phoning patients to confirm upcoming appointments
• Filing, faxing and photocopying
• Errands to other departments

Qualifications:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Strong problem solving and conflict resolution skills.
• Good interpersonal skills, caring and friendly, and able to interact with family and visitors when required.
• Proactive and resourceful.
• Pay attention to detail.
• Must be able to take direction, but also to work independently.
• Reliable and punctual.

The similarities between these roles and the role that secretaries, administrative assistants and office managers play in organizations is striking.    In these two position examples there is a direct correlation between the work of a volunteer and the equivalent full-time staff position allowing us to parallel the contributions of volunteers to that of donors by examining the financial offset volunteers provide.  Though there many not be a   If the yearly equivalent of 10 full-time staff are employed as volunteers in the above positions, the cost savings to the hospital is enormous and the potential loss were there no volunteers to fill these positions equally significant.  Social accounting is a new way of looking at the contributions of volunteers and bringing their work from the periphery of reporting to the forefront.

Check back in the coming months for more details on upcoming Social Accounting sessions to learn more about how your organization can apply this tool or look below for more information and resources related to this topic.

Dr. Mook’s Biography
Laurie Mook has degrees in accounting, international development, educational policy studies, and adult education. She was a Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada doctoral fellow at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, and is now co-director of the Social Economy Centre of the University of Toronto. Dr. Mook’s research focuses on social and environmental accounting, social economy organizations, and volunteerism.

Her new book:  Understanding The Social Economy
Laurie is co-author (with Jack Quarter and Betty Jane Richmond) of the recent book, What Counts: Social Accounting for Nonprofits and Cooperatives, Second Edition, (London: Sigel Press, 2007).

Links:
Social Economy Centre at the University of Toronto

Disney Parks announced their “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” campaign to help inspire 1 million people to volunteer in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico. Beginning January 1, 2010 Disney Parks will commemorate the volunteer spirit with a free one-day admission ticket to a Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort theme park to the first 1 million people who volunteer a day of their time.  Volunteer Canada, an international partner of Hands On Network, helped bring this campaign to Canada.  Working with agencies and volunteer centres in cities across the country, hundreds of volunteers were mobilized at volunteering events such as this one in Toronto.  50 000 tickets are available for volunteers participating with registered volunteer agencies in Canada.

Having just spent an afternoon at the Power of The Hour launch where the focus was placed on the significant change that can be made by just one person, in one hour, I think I can speak for all at Volunteer Toronto when I say that Disney’s Give a Day. Get a Disney Day is an enormous opportunity for individuals to volunteer for non-profits to start affect real change in their communities.  The support of businesses such as Disney is extremely important to draw attention to the needs and causes that the non-profit and volunteer sector address, but the rest is up to us.  Borrowing from the idea behind Power of the Hour, if 50 000 individuals dedicate 8 hours each to volunteering, that’s 400 000 hours or the equivalent to one individual working non-stop for 46 years.

Canadian non-profits and charities can learn more about how they can take advantage of this program to build the next wave of volunteerism by visiting www.volunteer.ca

Individuals can sign-up for a wide variety of volunteer opportunities by going clicking here

Contact information for organizations providing disaster relief

Canadian Red Cross www.redcross.ca
Donations can be made on-line or by calling toll-free 1.800.418.1111

Salvation Army www.salvationarmy.ca
Donations can be made on-line or by calling toll-free 1.800.725.2769

UNICEF www.unicef.ca\disaster
Donations can be made on-line or by calling toll-free 1.877.955.3111

Additional information
The CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) web site has posted an extensive list of accredited organizations contributing to disaster relief efforts. The link to this page is
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/01/13/f-emergency-contacts-haiti-relief-aid.html

This page on the CBC web site also gives a phone number for Canadians trying to contact family members or friends in the disaster area.

Canadian Red Cross*
In-kind donations of food, clothing and other items, while well intentioned, are not the best way to help those in need. There are tremendous processing and transportation costs involved in shipping these items to beneficiaries. Local purchases of food and clothing are more culturally appropriate and effective. Red Cross supplies can be purchased in the immediate area, thereby reducing transportation costs. Cash transfers to the affected region provide the optimum flexibility to our Red Cross colleagues so they can meet the most urgent needs.
*Web site posting January 14, 2010

Join

And

  VolunTeen Information Fair

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

From 3:00 – 6:00 PM

At Don Montgomery Community Centre

2467 Eglinton Avenue East, Scarborough  (near Kennedy Subway Station)

 Meet with Scarborough and Area Non-Profit Organizations’ Representatives to find out about volunteer opportunities, services and programs available in your community.

 Over 1000 Volunteer Opportunities Available for Youth

   Discover the importance of VolunTeening:

 Complete the required 40+ hours of community involvement, Get involved in your community, Make important networking contacts,

Learn new skills, Make new friends, have fun and much more!

 Special guests and attractions will be added to the mix!  CU there!

 Bring a donation – in support of Daily Bread Food Bank 

Volunteer Toronto, Volunteer Canada, Hands On Network and Disney Destinations celebrated a special day at Volunteer Toronto’s Fun Day at Toronto Zoo. Over 200 volunteers of all ages helped make toys to enrich playing and feeding time for the zoo’s animals.

Disney Parks announced their “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” campaign to help inspire 1 million people to volunteer in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico. Beginning January 1, 2010 Disney Parks will commemorate the volunteer spirit with a free one-day admission ticket to a Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort theme park to the first 1 million people who volunteer a day of their time.  Volunteer Canada, an international partner of Hands On Network, helped bring this campaign to Canada.  Working with agencies and volunteer centres in cities across the country, hundreds of volunteers were mobilized at volunteering events such as this one in Toronto.

Thanks to all the volunteers for their hard work, and to Volunteer Canada, Hands On and Disney Destinations for making this day possible.

View more photos in Flicker.