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
