Volunteer Vancouver

When I moved to East Vancouver a few years ago I found a community like none I'd ever experienced before. Our little piece of Grant Street is friendly, our neighbours talk to us and to each other and everyone seems genuinely concerned about each other. All-in-all, despite what we thought we knew about East Vancouver before moving there, we were made to feel at home. I'm not saying for a second that there aren't other communities like ours, its just that I've never lived in one quite like it before.

Considering that this community was to be the one that we would call home, the one that we would raise our kids in, I thought that the best way to ensure that it stays friendly, clean and safe was to find a way to contribute and become a more active member of the community at large. I have volunteered in some capacity in other areas where I've lived so I decided to explore the various volunteer opportunities available in Hastings-Sunrise and Vancouver in general.

One great source of information for organizations looking for volunteers and volunteers looking for organizations is Volunteer Vancouver. This is something like a "help wanted" site for the voluntary sector but it also offers much more. According to their web site:

Established in 1943, Volunteer Vancouver has evolved into an organization that is proactive and innovative. We also continue to respond to the community and enhance the contributions of volunteers by working with organizations to maximize volunteer involvement.

Volunteer Vancouver offers a wide range of services that include training workshops, BoardMatch, a resource library and an online newsletter called Vantage Point. Interested people can sign up for regular updates and be made aware (by email) of volunteer opportunities in their communities.

As mentioned, I have volunteered for pretty much my whole adult life. Today I am involved with 6 different organizations in Vancouver and on the North Shore (I have trouble saying no sometimes) and despite the challenges that all of these present sometimes, all are very important to me for their own reasons. My wife would love for me to cut a few of them back, but which ones? Trouble is there just aren't enough people like me (or the 7.5 million (1997) other Canadians) willing to give up some of their time for a worthy cause. Worse, competition for good volunteers is fierce, as I have found out trying to find volunteers where I work. I'm not suggesting for a minute that everyone need give up as much as I do and I understand that there are probably some very good and valid reasons why people don't volunteer, but I personally believe that this world would stop rotating if it weren't for the efforts of volunteers.

According to Volunteer BC, in 2000 some 845 000 (26% of the population) British Columbian's volunteered about 142 million hours of their precious time. This is equal to 74 000 full-time jobs. The national contribution of British Columbian volunteers is an impressive 13% and this includes all of those wonderful people on the PAC's at your kids school, little league coaches, Search and Rescue members, people on the board at your favorite Rec Center, people providing valuable public services at no charge so that you may participate in the activity for low or no charge. Sort of makes you want to hug a volunteer doesn't it?

But back to Volunteer Vancouver and their significance for me... this is were I first found out about the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition. The subject of my next post.