As volunteers, our first instinct is to focus on how we can help. We want to be good neighbours and support our community through a crisis, but it is a bit more difficult now as we’re working to flatten the curve. In this blog, Daniela Seiferling from Volunteer Alberta and Ilya Ushakov from ECVO share examples of…
As COVID-19 has reached pandemic levels and physical distancing has become the best defence to stop the spread, many nonprofits have suspended volunteer recruitment efforts, modified frontline service delivery, or are searching for new ways to recruit or engage volunteers. We all have a role to play in flattening the curve, and, while the process…
As volunteer engagement specialists, it’s essential to recognize and respond to trends. Understanding who the volunteers are in the community and what types of opportunities they’re interested in helps engage and find volunteers in the current climate. This doesn’t change in a pandemic. In fact, we need to be more responsive and open to change…
“What do you want to do when you graduate?” September means a few things: green leaves and grass begin turning yellow and gold, the wind is a little crisper, pumpkin-spiced drinks are back, and of course, students are back in school. As a recent grad, I reflect on my post-secondary and employment journey often. The…
When I give skilled volunteerism presentations, I feel there is always a little bit of a disparity between how we talk about conventional volunteering as opposed to “skilled volunteering”. We frame skilled volunteering as this newfangled, shiny amazing thing. And while the term is new, skilled volunteering is not a new phenomenon. So, it is…
Growing up, December was the season of giving. My family celebrated Christmas by sharing with the community. Early on, my parents instilled the lessons that Christmas was not about the presents under the tree, it was about gifting our time and creating joyful memories for those around us. I recall many a December preparing shoeboxes…
Imagine trees wrapped in hand-knitted scarves on a cold winter’s day or children handing out lemonade on a hot summer day. In Hinton, you can easily come across informal volunteering or random acts of kindness. And, Hinton’s Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) is no different. One of Hinton FCSS’s main goals is to foster…