Volunteering is a great way for newcomers to get to know their community, while learning about Canadian culture, practicing or learning skills and meeting new people. Just like engaging volunteers from other cultures, there are factors unique to engaging recent immigrants. For example, they might be unfamiliar with Canadian social norms or face language barriers. And yet, volunteering is often a valuable integration tool. For many, it’s also a steppingstone towards employment. This year, I had the pleasure to meet Debbi from the Volunteer Centre of Southeastern New Brunswick who (among other things) helps newcomers to find volunteer opportunities in […]
Continue ReadingBuilding the Mosaic: Making Volunteering Multicultural
We have heard it before when it comes to multiculturalism; that the US is a melting pot and Canada is a mosaic. Personally, I love the visual of a colourful mosaic creating a larger Canadian identity that’s greater than the sum of its parts. Since today is Canadian Multiculturalism Day, it’s the perfect opportunity take a minute to reflect on how we can make volunteerism more diverse! Canadians are proud of our reputation of being welcoming to other cultures; though it’s not always clear how we can practice that in a meaningful way. To help us, I reached out to […]
Continue ReadingWhat I learned at my first volunteer management conference
I recently attended the Volunteer Center Leadership Forum and the Synergize Conference in Ottawa. Though I can safely say my brain has been turned to putty after so much information and meeting so many amazing volunteer engagement professionals, these four days were incredibly valuable for me, and I’m sure for everyone in attendance too. I can’t possibly do justice to everything that I learned, as much from the incredible presenters as I did from the volunteer centres and volunteer managers in the room. Nonetheless, I will try! Here are some of the key tips I walked away with. Volunteer Training […]
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