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You may be wondering what we at VolunteerConnector do when we are not working with organizations doing wonderful work in the world and volunteers who are impacting their communities. We do a lot of walking and running but we also love podcasts!

Here is one we think is awesome and we think you should know about, featuring the very knowledgeable Tim Fox.

"Sharing the Responsibility for Decolonization"

If you have heard something you think we would enjoy, let us know! 

New year and everyone is getting back into the swing of things. If you are reading this as an organization that means you are looking forward to the year and what sort of needs, you might have to change your volunteer team. If you are a human who wants to utilize their skills and abilities, you are on the lookout for opportunities to suit your needs and availability. 

Every single opportunity posted on volunteerconnector.org gets views. Each and every one! So there really is an opportunity for everyone looking and there is a great fit for every organization. 

Here is to another 2,215,214 connections between humans wanting to do good in their community and organizations working on making the world better. 

If you are looking for something to listen to check out Youquest on CBC Radio.  From their founding Youquest recognized and embraced the value that volunteers would hold in their organization; they have continued to use VolunteerConnector as they have grown over the past couple years. Their impactful program is now being replicated in different parts of the country! Just another example of humans seeing a need in their community, rallying together to do good and using technology to bring others along!

Two different organizations, different scopes of work, different causes, different cities. Both Better Environments and ARKS used VolunteerConnector to thrive and adapt in uncertain times.  

ACCESSIBILITY RENOVATIONS FOR KIDS 

Accessibility Renovations for Kids is an established organization in Calgary, whose goal is to ease the daily lives of children with mobility challenges by renovating or modifying their family home. They started this year with 3 volunteers, they were up to 65 by Thanksgiving and plan to have 120 humans engaged with their cause by Christmas. VolunteerConnector enabled them to develop specialized teams and bring people who cared about their cause together.  

BETTER ENVIRONMENTS 

At the beginning of 2020 Mac McAlear was a university student, 8 months into a global pandemic and she is now a CEO of an organization that operates in 4 cities across Canada and has volunteers from around the world. Better Environments recognized the need for people to get outside and do something in their communities. They used VolunteerConnector to expand their reach and empower people to take responsibility for the environment within their community.  

Well the VolunteerConnector has been up and awesome for a couple years. In that time we’ve made tweaks here and there and added features that made it better for volunteer and organizations! We decided it was a time to refresh the Postings page. This was done with lots of consideration, research, data and insights from organizations/regional partners. What has changed?

• We have streamlined- time is a valuable commodity, now you can only fill out the sections that you need to. 
• We have made posting happen with just one click, no more scrolling to choose draft or later. 
• We have made it more mobile friendly so it’s easier to post an opportunity on the go. 
• Best for last ... an audience section that lets you target where you want to recruit from! 

Login to your profile to check it out, there is help text to guide you along but you probably won’t need it! If you need help or have questions we are here to help - info@volunteerconnector.org.

We are constantly evaluating and investing in the VolunteerConnector to make sure it is working for organizations, volunteers, and regional partners. We have added an awesome new feature called "Verify Hours" which allows volunteers and organizations to track the impact they have on each other. Check it out today by logging onto your profile!

This is what happens when 2 great organizations; Storytelling Alberta and Calgary Senior Resource Society have an awesome idea and use VolunteerConnector to find people with the skills they need!

CBC News Article - "Storytellers Connect With Seniors"

Hooray for creating a bright spot in the lives of older adults!

Did You Know?

Via the VolunteerConnector, it takes less than 2 weeks for organizations to connect with humans who share a passion for their cause and meet their requirements.  

That means 157 people viewing the opportunity, 7 people applying (using the wondrous one click application function) and one great addition to your organization! 

This graph is the number of postings by organizing groups on VolunteerConnector.org for the year 2020 so far.

I am sure at first glance it looks like lots of data that has been shared in this “unprecedented time”. You might be thinking YIKES! volunteerism is another casualty of the global pandemic. You would be wrong.

In his book on belonging Sebastian Junger says of us humans that we “don't mind hardship, in fact they thrive on it”. The past couple months have been full of both but caring for each other has definitely been thriving. It just hasn’t always been identified as volunteerism. It is though, and it's missing from the graph above.

There is a lot missing from the graph; board members that have continued to gather and look ahead, frontline agencies who have continued to rescue, provide shelter and food. Plus all of these things: keeping in touch, doing shopping for someone, helping with cleaning and gardening, collecting prescriptions, providing meal support, providing IT support, helping with pets, providing tutoring, providing transport to appointments, making personal protective equipment, attending marches and protests, writing to members of government, using social media…so much great work!

We don’t know what Autumn is going to look like or what 2021 will feel like. What we do know is that humans have been and will continue to take care of each other. So; if you run an organization in the evenings between your paid employment ... or you work for an org that is still figuring out how to engage safely in person ... or in a digital space ... or if you use your social media platform to amplify messages, or any of the other things that keeps us all connected and feeling safe ...

Keep on going!

You may have noticed the banner across the top has changed, maybe you didn't. We have added a specific call out for volunteers to help with mask making and distribution. 

If you are a group/organization with a profile on the Connector and you are involved in mask distribution, be sure to create a post calling on individuals to connect with you to complete this important work.

If you are a group that does not currently have a profile, it takes only a few minutes to set one up. Once set up, you can post a call out in the form of an opportunity for people to get connected with you. You can even arrange/schedule shifts for distribution of your masks or to support any of your other activities. 

If you have any questions or need any support in getting started you can email us directly or get in touch with one of our Regional Partners who can support your start on the Connector.