Volunteering may be one of the most valuable experiences of your life. It's a double win: your community or cause benefits from your work and you benefit from your experiences.
Why volunteer?
1. Volunteering is a great way to get work experience! You learn new skills by trying new jobs.
2. You might find something you'd like to do for a living, or discover what you would not want to do.
3. Better yet, you can meet people who can give you guidance and possibly help you to find a paid job later on.
4. Some volunteer opportunities involve travel across Canada or to other countries.
5. Employers will be impressed that you took the initiative to learn new things.
6. You can learn how a charitable organization works.
7. Best of all, you will be taking action to promote what you think is important and probably be helping someone else along the way.
Who needs volunteers?
1. Hospitals
2. Charities
3. Clubs
4. Overseas development organizations
5. Music and arts festivals
6. Sporting leagues and events
7. Children's camps
8. Libraries
9. Environmental organizations
10. Crisis lines and peer counselling organizations
11. Human rights organizations
12. Religious organizations
13. Political campaigns
14. Government agencies (local, provincial, federal)
What are some of the things a volunteer can do?
1. Coach a team.
2. Read to children.
3. Raise money for charity (fight diseases, reduce poverty, help the sick and injured, etc.).
4. Care for the elderly.
5. Feed the hungry.
6. Provide counselling and support.
7. Run errands and do deliveries.
8. Gather and analyze data.
9. Raise awareness of important issues.
10. Do clean-up and repairs in the community.
11. Build houses or playground equipment.
12. Care for animals.
13. Stage concerts, plays and other cultural events.
14. Protect the environment.
15. Plant trees.
16. Help-out with a political campaign.
Where can you find volunteer opportunities?
1. Visit your community's volunteer bureau, community information centre, or town hall.
2. Call a service club.
3. Visit a hospital.
4. Ask family, friends and neighbours what they recommend.
5. Join an organization whose activities you support.
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