May 08, 2009

By: Edward Chow - Board Chair

Amidst an economic recession, the timing has never been better to get involved with the not for profit sector. A few weeks ago, I was amazed when looking at a university career centre website to find a total of seven summer job postings. With an increasingly lower number of jobs, there are multiple alternatives to gain skills and differentiate yourself from the competition.   Whether you volunteer for one time for an event or ongoing on a provincial board of directors, you can always develop new skills while volunteering your time. As students or youth, you never know what you can gain from volunteerism and being involved. Alberta’s YouthVOLUNTEER! Society provides opportunities for youth to make a difference in communities all across Alberta.  We also have opportunities for youth to join our youth board of directors. Our board of directors consists of youth from across the province who decide what projects the organization is involved in and what direction the organization goes. While most organizations are governed by older individuals, our organization provides a very unique opportunity for youth to gain new skills and be involved in projects that you are interested in and passionate about.

Alberta’s YouthVOLUNTEER! Society has had a great year, with significant progress as we continue to grow. As a lead agency for Global Youth Service Day, many youth from schools in the Edmonton Capital Region were able to organize and implement projects from start to finish. We look forward to Vitalize Provincial Voluntary Sector Conference where we will implement the
Youth Conference and host our Annual General Meeting. I would like to personally extend an invitation for all youth and organizations to attend our Annual General Meeting which will occur on the morning of Saturday, June 6, 2009. I promise the event will be like no other AGM you have ever attended. I look forward to meeting you all! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email us at info@youthvolunteer.ca.

Edward Chow