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On July 6 we gathered on the good ole' zoom with our regional partners from across the country to share some helpful updates on the platform! There was attendance from coast to coast, from Sunshine Coast, British Columbia to Miramichi, New Brunswick. Always soul affirming to congregate with humans who care deeply about their communities. The updates have been live on the platform for a couple weeks, but it was a great chance to walk through it and answer questions! The summit also featured a presentation from our very own Doug (yep, we own one of those rare creatures). Doug shared that we are on track to see 3 million visits to the volunteerconnector.org this year and that we continue to see growth in communities (welcome to our newest regional partners City of Kimberley and Red Deer Community Foundation). Doug also shared our continued commitment to social justice and decolonizing our thinking, system of volunteering and the VolunteerConnector platform. 

We were also pleased to welcome Deborah Pike from Volunteer Canada who shared information from a report that was published in December 2020 called 'Volunteering Lens of Covid-19'. Of note was that of the organizations who responded to the survey almost half anticipate to continuing offering virtual volunteer roles through the fall of 2021. Thank you, Deborah for taking the time and sharing the work Volunteer Canada has been up to! 

If you want to get on the guest list for the next one get in touch (info@volunteerconnector.org). It is a cool bunch of people to hang out with!

We like to connect with people across Canada and see what they are up to. We recently connected with some awesome people in Sudbury who have been rocking volunteerism through the pandemic. They partnered with the City of Greater Sudbury to create Virtual Service Hubs to help increase digital literacy, internet access and ensure residents were able to access critical services that went online during the restrictions.  COVID - Virtual Activity Pods also served a critical role in support of seniors in the Sudbury to stay connected and also complete project together that benefitted the community like knitting winter-wear and writing thank-you notes for frontline workers. 

They took on those additional projects on top of their normal work which includes supporting anyone interested in volunteering in and around Sudbury with a special focus on supporting people who are confronted with systemic barriers in accessing a volunteer experiences. 

In chatting with Megan it was clear the team is passionate about their community and making sure people feel like they belong. Very inspiring!

So if you ever find yourself staring up at a Big Nickel and thinking about getting engaged in your community or connecting with a cool causes then go hang out with the team at Volunteer Sudbury. We look forward to continuing to see what they get up to and are so glad we met!

If you are in Ontario and want to chat with us to tell us about volunteerism in your area ... we would love to hear from you: info@volunteerconnector.org.

We regularly review the platform to make sure it is working for organizations, volunteers and for general operational integrity. We see all types of opportunities on the platform, every single one of them gets views which is helpful. There have been some in the past couple years that have stuck out- an airplane restorationist and a big data buff were cool and unusual. It is a good place to peruse if you are looking for inspiration for what is possible for your own organization. There are two posts that have caught our attention this week for two totally different reasons. 

The first one is from the Foolish Operations Society. Love, love, love that they have taken an anti-ableist stance by including this line "Accessibility note : The pathway to the performance site is a 4-5 minutes' walk. The ground is uneven. This position is difficult of access for individuals using wheelchairs." It will bode very well for our communities when we begin to consider the ways in which lots of people move through the world. A good lesson for us all in the information that can be included in opportunities to make them considerate.  

The next one is from Fixt Point Arts. First off who does not want to be part of an Empathy Squad?! Seems great! What really lands with this opportunity is the strong balance of skill development and community connection. It is an opportunity that is just as much about picking up podcasting skills as it is about the work of collecting oral stories. Plus, "amplifying of voices, centering of overlooked stories, and celebrating unsung heroes" is work that really matters. 

We watch a lot of things here on the Connector. One of those things is what people are most interested and how that changes over time. I know we've said it before but we have seen a lot of grassroots initiatives pop up throughout the pandemic. We think it's that automatic response to our neighbourly care kicking in. Turns out a few others think that too. A friend forwarded me this link today - How the rise of grassroots organizing changed the pandemic – and the non-profit sector

We've done a few presentations in the last two months to share the trends we see. Take a look at the photo and draw your own conclusions about what volunteers think is important 20 months into this pandemic and as things are reopening ever so slightly.

Halfway through 2021 seems like a great time to do a Dr. Ibram X. Kendi appreciation post. His voice, his words, his brilliance has helped us at VolunteerConnector and many others navigate all the learning and unlearning involved in the lifelong and generational antiracism work. 

You can find him and his content in lots of different spaces and places on social media:

• Twitter @DrIbram
• Instagram @ibramxk 

He has published 8 books, 2 of which are for children. The favourited page for toddlers and adults alike within Antiracist Baby is page 3 - "Point at policies as the problem, not people" - something that bears repeating to oneself repeatedly. Plus, it has some awesome butterfly illustrations! He writes for lots of additional publications including a monthly column in The Atlantic. What we are saying is whether it is 142 characters or a hardcover book, engage with his work!

Finally, it is his new podcast that has been leading to lots of great conversation, lots of pauses and best of all lots of discomfort. Be Antiracist with Ibram X. Kendi (found wherever you listen to any podcast) is a brilliant study in intersectionality. He welcomes guests in each episode to help guide us the listener in what it takes to make a society that is more equitable and therefore better for all of us. So far, they have covered topics like LGBTQ+ justice, Ableism, voting suppression and the Zero-Sum Myth. It is so, so good. So good. 

Oh and he also runs the Centre for Antiracist Research ... so check them out too! 

In 2020 the volunteerconnector.org saw a 19% increase in grassroots organizations, we expect that to double this year. More and more people using the reach and ease of the Connector to make people aware of issues that matter in their communities.

Grassroots organizing is collective action that begins literally at the root. As a result, these groups are extraordinarily nimble and able to rapidly respond to need or a change. Besides the volunteerconnector.org these organizations often post their needs and opportunities via social media. This is another great reason to curate the accounts you follow and engage with to inspire you to connect with things you care about.

In the past few weeks, there have been a couple cool examples of grassroots organizing and participation leading to change. In British Columbia, the Rainforest Flying Squad has been working in support of  Pacheedaht, Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht First Nations to halt old growth logging in the Fairy Creek watershed through a blockade. The blockade and the work of those involved just resulted in the premier declaring a two-year moratorium. In the middle of the country last week community members and neighbours joined together to support the people who were being evicted from Trinity Bellwoods Park in Toronto. Although the evictions still took place the resistance made international news coverage and that coverage made a lot of us think about the ways we take care of each other and how we treat people who do not have houses. That awareness matters. 

Finally, if you live in an urban centre and are looking for ways to make sure people in your community are ok in this intense summer weather find your local Bear Clan Patrol and check out what they are asking for.​

Covid brought some big changes to my life. As an elementary teacher with complicating medical issues, I made a decision to stay out of the classroom for a year and requested a leave of absence. Once granted, this leave opened up a lot of free time for me, some of which I knew I wanted to spend with kids, either outdoors or online, because I was now missing the kid interaction in my daily life. By chance, I came across the VolunteerConnector website and it has been a real gift.

This user-friendly website provides such easy access to a wide range of volunteer opportunities. I have found three different organizations to volunteer with, each one offering a different experience with children. Whether working with children in equine-assisted therapy, assisting with online family literacy classes, or online tutoring, I am very appreciative of the doors VolunteerConnector platform has opened for me. Not only do I get to volunteer with children, but I get to volunteer with horses as well! I hadn't even thought that such an opportunity existed! There is also a wide variety of online possibilities. Many organizations have had to move their programs online and have discovered the benefits to being online. Many people at home are also very ready to go online to maintain engagement with the world beyond their own four walls and to donate their time.  The VolunteerConnector platform enables these two groups to connect together.  Thanks to VolunteerConnector for doing a wonderful job at 'propelling us' above and beyond, especially during this time of Covid. 

Thank you,

Margaret Ardan

We talk about lots of different topics here on the blog. We don’t usually take the opportunity to brag about ourselves but we are making an exception today. 

We launched an awesome and very helpful new feature to volunteerconnector.org to support times when communities are in crisis. The news coverage often shows the horrible aftermath of floods, fires, earthquakes and the like but we all know that the best in humanity comes out during these moments. It’s neighbour supporting neighbour, it’s people taking care of each other. 

With this in mind we have renovated the volunteer profile on volunteerconnector.org to include an option to opt into contact information being shared with a local organization in the case of an urgent community need. An important thing to mention: the choice is up to the volunteer. A volunteer will always have the power to determine what is shared and not shared with an organization in terms of their personal information. 

A cool thing has happened since we launched this - over 90% of people have opted in! Lots of people out there caring about their communities and willing to be called upon when something bad happens. No million dollar prize just doing the right thing. Something very heartwarming about that indeed.

Let’s talk about the 2 sentences we hear A LOT when it comes to engaging people in volunteerism:

1. We ALWAYS need volunteers 
2. It’s ALWAYS the same people doing all the work.

These things are probably true at some time, for some organizations, probably also feels real for a lot more organizations for lots more time. Is it real though? Is it a fact? 

When was the last time somebody sat down and considered the work that needs to be done within the organization, how that work can be divided up and who should be doing that work? We are living in a time where everything can feel a little upside down, the ground is uneven. Maybe it’s also the time where there is also possibility and room to be curious? Maybe what made sense in 2019 doesn’t fit for 2022! Only you know what that looks like in your organization but let us know what you come up with! We’d love to share your stories! 

In terms of sentence 2 - this is another story we tell. Two reasons for this, whether we believe it or not we haven’t asked. Like truly asked, not just tried to convince someone we know to do it. Extending the reach of the organization past its regular network. The other reason is we have not thought about how the work could be made more flexible. There are tons of ways to do this- make it remote, change the deadlines, chunk up the role, recruit from outside your location.

VolunteerConnector recently posted an opportunity for a Content Advisor, after 8 days on the site we interviewed 2 cool humans and 1 was the right fit! This person couldn’t start until the summer so that’s what we will do. 

We would love to hear stories from your organization about how your curiosity and flexibility have led to an awesome volunteer engagement story. Let us know at info@volunteerconnector.org.

Thanks for another fantastic year and the completion of our AGM this week. A special thanks to our guest speakers:

• Laurie Livingstone, Calgary Legal Guidance
• Krista Poole, CanLearn Society
• Pete Meadows, Look Forward YYC

As well, we want to thank Minister Aheer for sending greetings and thanks to all the volunteers out there who dedicate their time to serving in their communities!

Of course a huge shout out to our board for making the AGM happen and continuing to serve all of us across so many communities.