Do you volunteer as a family? Are you curious about how to involve your child in helping out, or giving back?

The post below originally appeared in the HandsOn Blog on March 15th 2011. It is a great intro to volunteering as a family, and they were generous in their permission for us to re-post for your reading pleasure!

If you are curious about where to start volunteering as a family in Victoria, read on to the bottom, or please share your experiences and insights through the comments!

[Continue reading Volunteering as a family (and how to start in Victoria)]

This article first appeared in Volunteer Victoria’s E-Link newsletter on August 26th, 2011. Sign up for E-Link and keep current with news and information from Volunteer Victoria.

The Ministry of Social Development recently announced additional funding for the Community Volunteer Supplement Program (CVS). The CVS program encourages people on income or disability assistance to volunteer by providing up to a $100 monthly supplement to offset volunteer expenses such as travel or clothing.

Applicants who were waitlisted on August 8th will have until October 31st, 2011 to submit a request for a CVS application – and all eligible ...

[Continue reading Connecting Volunteers]

Over the past year we have identified an increasing level of community interest in family volunteering (adults and children together). This has come from families, employee groups, the media and others.

As one of VV’s roles is to identify emerging trends in volunteerism, we recently surveyed our 296 member agencies to learn more about family volunteering options.

We wanted to determine how many of our agencies currently engage families as volunteers, as well as identify agency capacity for engagement, perceived barriers, current practices / experience around family volunteering and interest in sharing learnings or learning more about family volunteering.

From the 78 agencies that responded to this ...

[Continue reading Results of our Family Volunteering Survey]

Volunteering with Benefits at the Marriott Inner Harbour

Volunteer Victoria had the great pleasure of supporting Volunteering with Benefits, the UnitedNOW signature event on April 15th, 2011. It was a super event, with over 500 volunteer hours raised in three short hours! Check out Ashley Kelbough’s photos of the event.

It was particularly awesome to see how much volunteering is valued by the 20-30 somethings who showed up. I have no doubt that each person there brings great talent, skills and passion to each of his or her endeavours – here’s to their volunteer ...

[Continue reading Did you know it’s the International Year of Youth?]

UnitedNow, a council of twenty-somethings volunteering with the United Way of Greater Victoria, works to raise awareness and develop understanding of key issues that impact individuals and families living throughout the Capital Regional District.

Their most recent endeavour, with the support of Volunteer Victoria, touches on volunteerism, getting connected and having fun – all in one evening! Volunteering with Benefits offers attendees the opportunity to bid on auction items with volunteer hours rather than dollars. Last year, 290 volunteer hours were raised, and the event was sold out!

This year, auction items ...

[Continue reading Volunteering with Benefits!]

The following is a guest blog post written and researched by one of Volunteer Victoria’s newest volunteer writers, Gwen Hill. Gwen is one of two Volunteer Victoria Media Copy Writers and she joined us in early 2011. She says she “has been writing for pleasure and craft since she figured out how to hold a pen”.  Enjoy!

To check out available volunteer opportunities with the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre, you can search their listings on Volunteer Victoria’s website:  http://ow.ly/46056.

The Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre opened its doors on June 20th, 2009, merging the resources and exhibits of the  ...

[Continue reading Eyes on Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre]

Maddy Guy is a volunteer with the Youth Volunteer Connections Program. She began volunteering with the Royal Jubilee Hospital in April 2010 and has volunteered with the Cool Aid Society as well.  Maddy is in Grade 12 at St. Andrew’s High School, and wants to pursue studies in nursing when she graduates.

Maddy has written an inspirational scholarship essay that speaks perfectly to the potential for growth and positive change through volunteering.  Please enjoy a glimpse into a youth volunteer’s experience.

                                                               ***

“We ought to make every moment count, ...

[Continue reading Making every moment count: A youth volunteer’s story]

Volunteer Victoria is celebrating our 35th anniversary as well as National Volunteer Week (April 18-24). We, along with our partner, the TELUS Victoria Community Board, are recognizing the 138,000 volunteers who contribute to our community this week! That means that 1 in 3 people in Greater Victoria volunteer with at least one community organization, if not several.

We are hosting a number of events this week, including a Volunteer Recruitment Fair at The Bay Centre from 10am-2:30pm on Friday, April 23rd. Come by to celebrate with us from noon to 1pm, enjoy some cake/coffee/musical entertainment and enter to win a TELUS smart phone courtesy of Tom Harris ...

[Continue reading It’s National Volunteer Week!]

This post first appeared in Volunteer Victoria’s Youth Volunteer Connections newsletter.  Please email tara@volunteervictoria.bc.ca to sign up  for the NewsFlash and hear about new volunteer opportunities, events and workshops happening in Victoria.

Reading Buddy: The Greater Victoria Public Libraries are looking for teen volunteers to pair up with younger children and participate with them in reading and writing based activities.  The commitment is for an hour a week for eight weeks, the program running from March 6th – April 24th.  For more information contact one of the local branches of visit www.gvpl.ca ...

[Continue reading NewsFlash #58]

The following is the first of many posts that we hope you will help contribute to.  As we enter 2010, and celebrate 35 years serving our community, we want to highlight the many valuable relationships we have with our members, volunteers, partners, sponsors, funders and supporters.  We invite you to join the conversation and to share your story with us.

I would like to welcome and thank Ben Ziegler, a volunteer and board member with Victoria Restorative Justice Society (VRJS), who has kindly offered to be our first guest “member” blogger to share how Volunteer Victoria assists his organization.

VRJS’s relationship with Volunteer ...

[Continue reading Community Collaborations: One of our many valued relationships with our members…]