Volunteering opportunities pitched at the University of Victoria this past Thursday were as diverse and plentiful as the 59 organizations that participated in a Volunteer Victoria fair there.
Driving seniors to appointments, setting the stage for cultural events, restoring classic sailboats, helping homeless persons and protecting our ecosystem were among potential experiences. Participating organizations included The Mustard Seed, Langham Court Theatre, Lifetime Networks, Scouts sa国际传媒, Royal sa国际传媒 Museum and Habitat For Humanity.
The prevailing sentiment shared by recruiters, volunteers and recipients was that volunteering can be life-changing.
鈥淭here is no bad reason to volunteer,鈥� said Arianne Klus, Volunteer Victoria鈥檚 youth program co-ordinator.
鈥淎 lot of youths I interact with are just coming out of high school and require 30 hours of volunteering or work experience to graduate.鈥�
UVic and Camosun students might also volunteer to fulfil program requirements, supplement academic achievements or to do something that will look good on their resum茅, she added.
Aside from such 鈥渟trategic volunteering,鈥� many are also motivated by networking opportunities, or doing it for altruistic reasons.
There was no shortage of swag, from candy to condoms (courtesy the Island Sexual Health Society), water bottles, pens, notepads and flashlights, to attract prospective volunteers.
鈥淚鈥檓 an invasive species,鈥� joked Susan Shortill, Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary鈥檚 Senior Nature Ambassador Program co-ordinator.
Shortill and volunteer co-ordinator Betty Leitch handed out bags of duck food while recruiting SNAP volunteers to supplement the work of the sanctuary鈥檚 nine-person staff.
Kevin Mack, volunteer co-ordinator for The Mustard Seed, said with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming, 鈥渁 whole army鈥� of volunteers is needed.
鈥淰olunteers literally keep our doors open,鈥� said Mack, adding 300 individuals volunteered last year.
Even Ballet Victoria couldn鈥檛 survive without volunteers for front-of-house, promotion and outreach events such as Tea for Tutu, explained Johan Destrooper.
鈥淲e keep a group of 100聽volunteers with skills in things like photography, design, literature and music going, and we need to renew it every year.鈥�
Highlights included Volunteer Access, an Island Health-funded Volunteer Victoria program that provides therapeutic volunteer opportunities for people with mental health and/or substance abuse challenges.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so rewarding being able to help people who may have been marginalized or stigmatized to provide extra support on their journey to wellness and community integration,鈥� said Corinne Mah, who co-ordinates the program with Lornna Olson.
鈥淪tudents studying psychology are good candidates to volunteer to work with that population,鈥� added Olson, whose success stories were referred by case managers, psychiatrists and others.
Sonya Stadus-Soo, 24, said participating as a volunteer in outings, exercises, choirs and multi-generation programs at Mount St. Mary Hospital 鈥渉as changed my life.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 bilingual and a lot of them are,鈥� said the volunteer who began by doing one-on-ones, 鈥渏ust listening and talking to鈥� residents.
鈥淲ith dementia, they regress back to their first language and it makes them feel like someone鈥檚 listening.鈥�
Anne McCaffrey, pastoral care and volunteer services co-ordinator, said it鈥檚 gratifying to see the impact volunteers have.
鈥淰olunteers like Sonya make a difference in everybody鈥檚 life,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he staff really appreciate people coming and connecting. It鈥檚 whole-person care.鈥�
Chris Judge, community relations manager for SALTS, the Sail and Life Training Society, explained volunteer opportunities, including a Volunteer Ambassador Program.
What attracted Judge to the sail and life training initiative was how it created so much personal growth so quickly for young people ages 13 to 25 enrolled in the experiental learning experience aboard two tall ships.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e thrust into an opportunity where there鈥檚 a necessity to figure out who you are, how you work with other people and how you make something of whatever it is you鈥檙e doing,鈥� he said.
