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What is Alberta's YouthVOLUNTEER! Society?
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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
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Take
Action on Climate Change
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Take
Action on the Millennium Development Goals
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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?
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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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How do I create an account with Alberta's YouthVOLUNTEER! Society?
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To create an account with AYV! simply click the Organization button in the login area on the right hand side. From there you will be prompted to create a username and password, and you will have to select the box indicating you are an organization. It is important that you remember this username and password, as you will need this to access the site in the future to add or edit postings.
Finally, fill out the required fields with your organizations infomation. You are now ready to create a posting! |
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How do I post my organizations volunteer opportunities on the website?
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You need to have an online account with AYV! in order to create a posting on the site. If you do not have one, click on the Organization button in the login area on the right hand side of the page and follow the steps. From there it will prompt you to create a postings where you will fill out all your positions details and submit them for our reveiw.
Once the information is submitted, it is reviewed by Alberta’s YouthVOLUNTEER! to ensure it aligns with our Organization Inclusion Guidelines. If your posting is approved, it will appear on the site within one week of submission.
Should you not have access to the website but would like to post opportunities, simply contact us at (780) 429-2987 and we will send you a manual form to complete and return for submission to the website.
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How do I add, edit, or remove postings from the website?
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To add, edit, or remove postings from the website, simply enter in the username and password you selected when you created your account in the login area on the right had side. Select the following buttons to carry out the task you wish to do:
- To add a new posting, click on the "Add a New Position" button on the right had side
- To make changes to an existing posting, click "Edit"
- To permanently remove a posting off the site, click "Delete"
- To remove a posting off the site while still allowing you to access it (as you may want to put it up again in the future), click "Deactivate"
- To put up a deactivated posting click "Activate" |
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How often should I update my posting?
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Once you are a member, you can change or update your information as frequently as you’d like. Simply logon to our website and enter your username and password. You can then make changes.
However, once your posting is on the site for 90 days you will be sent an automatic reminder asking whether you like to extend your posting. At that time, just click on the link to your posting, make changes as you see fit, and re-submit it. If you do not re-sumbit your posting within 14 days of the reminder being sent, your posting will be taken off the site. |
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I forgot my username and password, what should I do?
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It is important to remember your username and password, as you need this to access your account infomation on the site. However, in the event you forgot this please contact us at info@youthovolunteer.ca or (780) 429-2987. After verifying that you are the account holder we will be able to resend you your infomation. |
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What type of agencies can post volunteer opportunities on the website?
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From health to arts to social services, we encourage a range of not-for-profit organizations to get involved in youth volunteerism in Alberta. The following types of agencies may be considered for inclusion:
- Direct community service providers
- Networks or coalitions of direct service providers
- Organizations which provide a service, or umbrella associations for human service providers
- Foundations and funding bodies related to human or community services
- Government hospitals and health clinics
- Advocacy groups and political associations
- Service clubs and sports groups
- Education institutions
- Environmental associations
Please refer to our Organization Inclusion Guidelines for full details. |
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We are a church; can we post our youth volunteer opportunities?
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We support volunteer postings that are inclusive in nature and do not segregate based on religious, racial, gender or cultural factors. We welcome open volunteer opportunities that can involve youth of all backgrounds. As such, submissions from religious organizations are accepted, and are reviewed on a case by case basis to ensure that the opportunity is of a universal nature. |
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We are a political association; can we post our youth volunteer opportunities?
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Yes. We certainly encourage young people to get involved in political activities to gain firsthand insight into the processes in Canada. As with all our volunteer postings, Alberta’s YouthVOLUNTEER! evaluates all submissions to ensure that they comply with our Organization Inclusion Guidelines. We approve opportunities from legitimate and legal associations who promote healthy and safe values for Canadians. |
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What types of volunteer opportunities can we post?
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Volunteerism does not simply imply that agencies should employ young people to work for free, and take on all the less desirable tasks that paid employees don’t like doing. Rather we encourage organizations to adopt the attitude of integrating young people into their operations by offering meaningful opportunities that are skill building and challenging, and that offer a direct benefit to the community. Volunteer opportunities can vary from one-time event support to ongoing positions in a myriad of industries.
Types of jobs could include administrative help, fundraising, event support, technical services, website design, communications, helping with senior citizen activities, reading to hospital patients, leading young people in Girl Guides or Scouts, seasonal campaign assistance, political involvement and activism and even board representation, just to name a few.
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Do all volunteer postings need to be geared for youth?
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While we define youth broadly, we recommend that opportunities are suitable for people ages 14-24. Most young people are open to helping with a variety of tasks provided that they receive some direction and training prior to and during their engagement.
Please keep in mind that volunteer opportunities must be safe, age-appropriate and legal. For example, casino volunteers must be at least 18 years old. Other safety and parental considerations must be observed when minors are volunteering during late hours, or in instances where construction or renovations are taking place.
It is the responsibility of the hiring agency to ensure that their volunteers are trained for their task, kept safe and that proper communication is maintained with them. |
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Can we post volunteer opportunities for several communities in Alberta?
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YES! In fact we encourage you to do so. You will need to create a volunteer posting for each different type of job and/or for each location. For example, if you need volunteers to help distribute food hampers in Edmonton, Calgary and Lloydminster, you will need to enter separate postings for each location.
In following the steps to posting your volunteer opportunity, you will be asked to enter the location.
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How does the volunteer matching process work?
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Potential volunteers can access postings in two ways:
1. They can browse through all our current volunteer opportunities.
2. They can submit their profile indicating their interests, skills and schedule. Our computer automatically searches for opportunities that match the candidate’s profile and we email them thier matches. The candidate then has the choice to send an email to the organization expressing their interest in the selected opportunity. From there, your organization can choose to contact the individual as per your own volunteer recruitment processes. |
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Does Alberta’s YouthVOLUNTEER! Society screen volunteer candidates?
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We serve as a facilitator between interested volunteers and organizations in need. We believe it is more appropriate and more effective for your agency to determine the right volunteer fit for your needs, rather than have us decide which volunteers are most suitable for you. We recommend that each organization implement an interview and reference process to help you determine the right volunteer for the right job. |
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What do we do if a volunteer doesn’t work out?
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We recommend that you speak with the volunteer and look for any coaching opportunities that can improve the situation. If this is unsuccessful, your organization should deal with the situation according to its own volunteer policies, human resource practices and organization bylaws. You can re-post your volunteer opportunity to our website at any time by logging on and using your membership password.
Should you have any questions or require guidance in developing volunteer policies and/or managing a difficult volunteer situation please feel free to contact us. |
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Is there a membership fee for organizations?
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Currently we do not charge a membership fee for our services. |
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Are advertising opportunities available on your website?
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Yes. We offer several cost-effective options for not-for-profit organizations who are looking to increase their profile and promote services through paid marketing channels. Please contact us for details: info@youthvolunteer.ca or (780) 429-2987. |
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What other features can I benefit from on the AYV! website?
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In addition to posting volunteer opportunities, you can also access many other great features.
- Resources - browse through our extensive directory of organization specific resources for information on volunteerism
- Forums - chat with other volunteer managers and share ideas in our organization discussion forum
- Articles - read articles from youth volunteers, or better yet write your own articles about what youth are doing in your organization and send them to info@youthvolunteer.ca
- Events / Announcements - have your volunteer-related events and announcements listed on the site; send them to info@youthvolunteer.ca |
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Opportunities
