Valuing Volunteering – An Economist’s Perspective

The Conference Board of Canada is in the business of forecasting the economy. We produce detailed forecasts of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment, income, consumption and more of Canada and its regions. These forecasts are used by businesses and governments for planning or comparison to their own forecasts. So as an economist, my work tends […]

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Volunteering: A Way of Acting, a Way of Doing – A Way of Being

There’s nothing I enjoy more than a challenge. So when the Montreal Children’s Hospital contacted me with an urgent need to recruit a team of volunteers for their two-day Spartan Race fundraiser, taking place at 6:00 a.m. during a weekend and a two hours drive away, I unhesitantly assured them they would get their fifty […]

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Coordinating confidence, competence, connections and community

Have you ever wondered how volunteers get connected to the places they are needed the most? Who makes sure all the gaps are filled, that events get coordinated and that volunteers are being given opportunities to meaningfully contribute? In many cases, the answer is that a coordinator or manager of volunteers is behind the scenes! These […]

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