| What is Alberta's Youth VOLUNTEER! Society? | |
| Alberta’s YouthVOLUNTEER! Society is a youth-driven organization committed to encouraging, enhancing and supporting youth volunteerism across Alberta. By working with charities/nonprofit organizations and youth ages 14-24, we strive to foster collaboration between motivated youth volunteers and the organizations and citizens in need of volunteer support.
Presentation Series: We offer on-site educational presentations and workshops to schools and nonprofit agencies looking to learn more about the benefits of youth volunteerism. All of our programs are interactive and geared towards people who want to make a difference. Some of our presentations focus solely on the topic youth volunteerism, while others focus on getting youth involved around global youth issues. Presentations for Youth: · Volunteer 101 – Making Local Connections · Take Action on Climate Change · Take Action on the Millennium Development Goals · Volunteer Leadership Skills
Presentations for Organizations: · Youth Engagement
Want to book a presentation? Contact us at info@youthvolunteer.ca.
Advocacy and Collaboration: Our youth board, staff and volunteers strive to promote the strengths, needs and concerns of youth volunteers. We collaborate with various agencies and organizations in the sector to increase the profile of youth volunteerism and promote our mandate.
Alberta’s YouthVOLUNTEER! Society has the exciting privilege of hosting the Vitalize Youth/Mentor Program. The Vitalize Conference, presented by the Wild Rose Foundation, is the premier voluntary sector event of the year and is. The Youth/Mentor Program is planned by and for youth volunteers and has is always a lot of fun! Information about this event will be available on our website under the Events section.
Youth Board of Directors: Our board is comprised of youth ages 14-24 from across the province. Board members are passionate about youth volunteerism and embrace the mission and mandate of our organization. Elections are held at our Annual General Meeting in June. All board members receive support from our third-party Board Mentor.
Want to join our Board? Contact us at info@youthvolunteer.ca.
Online Volunteer Hub: Our website is the where volunteers, youth groups and organizations can share information, resources and volunteer opportunities. This virtual centre offers a volunteer matching service, discussion forums, articles and resource links. All youth and nonprofit agencies are encouraged to participate and send in articles, resources, events and of course volunteer opportunities!
Join our network of volunteers. Become a member today! |
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| What is the Mission, Purpose and Mandate of Alberta’s YouthVOLUNTEER! Society? | |
| Our Mission: To encourage, enhance and support youth volunteerism across the province of Alberta.
Our Purpose: To promote volunteerism generally for the benefit of the community-at-large by encouraging young people to become or remain active volunteers and to encourage volunteer efforts throughout Alberta through: · providing access to volunteer opportunities and resources within the community; · providing opportunities to network youth with local organizations; · providing courses, seminars and workshops to volunteers.
Our Mandate: · Universality. We are a provincial organization in which all communities and youth from all backgrounds have equal status and share equal responsibilities in helping each other. · Youth Driven. We are a youth organization, coordinated by a Board of Directors and staff that are youthful in spirit and in touch with youth culture. · Sustainable. We are a sustainable organization which strives to be financially stable over the long-term in its operations and program delivery.
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| What is volunteering? | |
| Volunteer Canada describes volunteering as “the most fundamental act of citizenship and philanthropy in our society. It is the offering of time, energy and skills of one’s own free will and without receiving monetary compensation”. Volunteering touches virtually all aspects of our society including social services, human rights, education, environment, health and wellness, faith, arts and culture, sports and recreation and even politics. |
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| Why would someone want to work for free? | |
| Most volunteers quickly come to realize that volunteering is not about working for free but about helping, learning and improving the world we share. Often the most powerful thing about volunteering is the knowledge that you can, and have made a difference in someone’s life. Volunteering not only benefits fellow citizens, but organizations can do so much more for the community as a whole with extra hands and added talent. People volunteer for different reasons, and that’s okay. Here are some of the benefits of volunteering that we hear most often: Volunteering… - helps me connect with new people - allows me to do something fun with my friends - makes me feel appreciated - lets me try new things and learn new skills - makes me aware of what life is like for others - allows me to explore different service areas - helps me gain job-related skills and maybe lead to my career - lets me do something I’m good at while helping others |
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| What types of volunteer jobs can I do? | |
| Volunteers can do all sorts of things. Some help at one-time events like selling tickets at hockey games, and others take on more regular tasks like reading to a sick child in the hospital or maintaining an organization’s website once a month. There are lots of different activities a youth volunteer can do, a few ideas can include: helping at a food bank, delivering food hampers and toys to less fortunate families, adopting a highway to keep clean with your friends, being a leader with the Girl Guides or Scouts, developing a website for a charity, playing/singing at a seniors center, writing a charity’s newsletter, helping with office duties, planning events, responding on a crisis help phone, or helping paint a set for a local play and even acting in the play! THE SKY’S THE LIMIT WITH VOLUNTEER JOBS YOU CAN DO! To check out current volunteer opportunities click here. |
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| How do I bookmark opportunities? | |
| If you come across a volunteer opportunities you are potentially interested in, just click "Add to Bookmarks" next to the position and this will save it to your profile so you can come back and look at it later on. Note that you must be logged-in in order to bookmark a position. After you have finished browsing, you can then view all of your flagged selections by clicking on "Bookmarks" in your account section. | |
| Do I have to log-in in order to search the directory of volunteer postings? | |
| No, you do not need to create a log-in and password in order to search the opportunities directory. You are welcome to browse all you want, and are not obligated to sign-in. | |
| What will a log-in name do for me? | |
| To start with, when you create an account on AYV! you can make a profile that's personalized with settings and services you want to use. You will have the option of having postings that match your interests sent directly to you (you don’t even have to go searching…we will search for you!). You will also be able to bookmark your favorite opportunities to your account so you can review them at a later time. Logging in will also give you the opportunity to e-mail potential volunteer employers directly from the site. So you don’t have to have a log-in, but it does offer you some helpful features! | |
| Can you notify me when postings come up that I may be interested in? | |
| YES; we can do the seaching for you! Once you have created an account you will create a profile. Here you will have the option of getting opportunities that may pique your interest emailed right to you. All you would have to do is answer some questions about what type of positions you are looking for, and when a new posting goes up on the site that matches your interests, you will be automatically e-mailed a notice of this new opportunity. Remember, this is not something you are obligated to do, but is an option that exists for your convenience. | |
| How do I respond to volunteer postings that interest me? | |
| Once you have narrowed down your search and found that perfect opportunity, you can contact the volunteer employer right from the site, provided you have a log-in name. All you have to do is click the “Contact Organization about this Position” at the bottom of the posting, and the Contact Message you created in your profile, which includes your contact information and a short message about yourself, will show up. From there you will have the opportunity to make changes or customize the message and then send it off. By having this existing Contact Message you won’t have to re-write a new email from scratch each time (hooray for less work!). The agency can then choose to contact you and proceed as per their volunteer recruitment program. From there, you will work directly with them to determine your training, schedule and job description. Please note that this clickable link will not be available on all positions, as some organizations have chosen to not be contacted using this feature. |
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| What should I do if there are no volunteer opportunities posted in my community? | |
| You can do a few things: a) Check for opportunities in another close-by community. Some organizations only have volunteer opportunities in certain centers. For example, if you live in Kitscoty you may want to check out a neighbouring town like Lloydminster for volunteer opportunities. Some agencies will even help with transportation so don’t forget to ask! b) You can directly contact a charity that you care about and see what volunteer opportunities they have in your community. Click here for a list of registered charities in Canada. c) You can start your own volunteer project to meet a need in your community! Keep reading below to find out more. |
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| Do I have to go through an interview and give references to volunteer? | |
| In some cases. To ensure the right volunteer gets matched with the right job, organizations usually want to meet you in advance and learn about what you like to do and your reasons for wanting to join their team. This is also a great opportunity for you to ask your own questions about the volunteer job so that you feel that it’s a right fit for you too! | |
| Why do some agencies ask to sign a confidentiality agreement and want a criminal record check? | |
| Many organizations especially in the health, education and human services fields, are committed to ensuring that everyone’s private information is kept confidential. In dealing with sensitive information, organizations must ensure that employees and volunteers are committed to professionalism and will never share private information with anyone outside the organization. Agencies are bound by law to ensure that personal privacy is protected, and therefore want your written consent that you will also follow the regulations. The criminal record check is sometimes requested to ensure that their employees and volunteers have not been convicted of a criminal offense that would put their organization or their clients at any risk. Even if you have a criminal record, some offences do not pose the same risks to some agencies and the work they do. To find out where you can get a criminal background check done, or a driver’s abstract in your community go to our online resource directory under “Personal Record Checks”. |
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| Do organizations really want youth working with them? | |
| Absolutely!!! Young people are recognized for bringing fresh ideas, energy and vitality to an organization. | |
| How can I connect with other volunteers my age? | |
| a) We encourage you to join our virtual youth volunteer community by participating in message boards, taking our surveys or submitting articles about your volunteer thoughts and experiences. We’d love to hear your views! b) In our online resource directory you can find local youth groups in your community that can offer some face-to-face connectivity and networking. Youth groups are generally very welcoming to new members and often have their own volunteer projects underway that could use your talents. If you are already part of a youth group that does or want to do volunteer work, let us know. We want to hear from you and can post some of your information on our website to help you along. Please contact us! c) Last but not least, Wild Rose Foundation hosts an annual volunteer conference named Vitalize. Every June, youth volunteers from across Alberta are greatly encouraged to join the event in Calgary or Edmonton (it alternates each year) to meet other volunteers, share ideas and learn about other youth activities taking place in the province. This year, Alberta’s YouthVOLUNTEER! is proud to be the sponsor for the youth portion of the conference and we invite you to join us June 8, 2007. |
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| What do I do if I don’t like where I’m volunteering? | |
| First, try to determine what it is you don’t like about the situation. Is it the job? Are you bored? Is it the people? Is it the hours? Once you determine that, you may want to talk to your supervisor to see whether they can help improve the situation for you. If you still feel that you want to leave, then we recommend that you write a letter of resignation and allow for 2 weeks notice. Although this is a volunteer job for you, organizations rely on their volunteers to operate. Two weeks notice allows the agency fair time to find a suitable replacement. Just remember that no matter how badly you want to leave a situation, it is not professional to simply stop showing up without notice to your volunteer job. Your reputation will be tarnished, and likely your references will be negatively affected. If you are unsure about what to do, please contact us, and we can help you with the process. |
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| A group of us want to start our own volunteer project. Can you help us? | |
| We can certainly provide you with information and depending on your project, we can help arrange some training on setting up. If there are more than 2 of you, we suggest that you decide who will be in charge of what elements of the project. This will avoid confusion as the project comes to life. You can get more information in our resource section under “Starting a Volunteer Service Project". |
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| Where can we get more information about funding our youth project? | |
| One of the first things you’ll want to do is determine how much money the project will cost you. From there you can determine who would be most suitable to approach. a) The Wild Rose Foundation is a great place to start. They encourage youth-led projects geared to strengthen the not-for-profit and voluntary sectors in Alberta. See: Youth Initiatives Limited Grant Program, Quarterly Grants Program. b) Your local FCSS (Family and Community Support Services) and your region’s United Way are often excellent sources for supporting youth initiatives. They often give funding to community projects that improve the quality of life and the services in the area. Usually a grant application needs to be completed with specific deadlines attached. Contact your local representatives for details about how to apply. c) You can also visit Charity Village online. This is a hub of resources that can help get you thinking about fundraising strategies and give you some added tips for your raising money for your cause. d) Small companies to major corporations give thousands a year in donations, so don’t be shy about approaching the manager or community investment person of a company you think would be a good fit with your cause. NOTE: It is generally a good idea to research their gift-giving guidelines on their company website before making your request. e) On a smaller scale, you can organize bottle drives, bake sales, silent auctions, shovel driveways or sell dog-walking services with all proceeds going to your project, just to name a few examples. Remember that fundraising can take a long time. From the time you make a request to the time you receive your money can be up to 6 months, so you’ll need to work that into your plan. For more information about fundraising and proposal writing, visit our resource directory under “fundraising” or contact us. |
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