Experience Volunteering – It Really Pays Off!
 Looking for the fast track into medical school or a way to make more money? Think about giving away your time! A recent study in the Canadian Journal of Economics found that on average, volunteers earn about 7% higher incomes than non-volunteers.
Volunteering is currently practiced by over 6.5 million Canadians as a way to give back their time, energy and skills to their communities and those less fortunate. In return, volunteering offers a sense of confidence, self-satisfaction and an opportunity to meet new people in new environments. For youth, volunteering also provides valuable experience for the job market and a chance to develop new communication, leadership, organization, teamwork, time management and social skills.
The 1997 National Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating from Statistics Canada found that over 65% of youth volunteers who were unemployed believed that their volunteer efforts would increase their chances of finding a job. One third of all volunteers believed that their volunteering had given them new skills that could be applied directly to the workplace.
Lending a hand can also help you get a job in the first place. Just ask Julie Fraietta. She won a web design contract because she volunteered her time creating a web site for her student association. "My current employers saw the site and contacted the students' association to see who had developed it," explains Julie. "Then they called me and offered to pay me to make theirs. That's pretty cool!" Lend a hand with a charitable organization by building their website once you graduate from CompuCollege in the Maritimes, Trend College in Alberta, or CDI at one of their many locations across Canada.
Leo Wong , 21, helped at the local Red Cross Blood Centre in Edmonton for four years. Because of the skills he developed while volunteering, organizers didn't have to look very far when hiring a program coordinator. They hired Leo and he ran the summer program for two more years. "Volunteer placements often turn into employment because people are there at the right time and already know how things work," says Leo. "Don't think that you're just wasting your time - you're investing it." Invest in YOUR health care career by taking a look at the many health care training providers in UC411.com’s health care area.
Volunteering can help you get into academic programs too. Emma Dimock started volunteering when she was in public school. "I knew that I liked working with people," says Emma. "Volunteering, I saw lots of different areas and could figure out what I really liked and what wasn't for me." Emma applied to the social work program at Ontario’s Lakehead University and one of the things they looked for on her application was volunteer experience. Fortunately, she had lots of it by then. If you like helping others and
For the past three years, Phillip Hui, 20, has been helping out at Vancouver General Hospital. Last year, he was accepted into the pharmacy program at the University of British Columbia. He's found that volunteering offers benefits that go beyond just getting into school or finding a job. "I thought I'd be the one helping them, but it's often the other way around," he says. "I'm inspired by the patients’ willpower and I know that this experience will make me better at helping people myself." If you have experience in a health care setting, are a health care grad, or have an aptitude for medical training, you have a bright future ahead of you. The Academy of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences in Toronto, or Stenberg College with two campuses in BC, can get you there faster.
Sixteen-year-old Jessica Tao wants to be an architect some day, but in the meantime, she's practicing her communication skills by showing people cockroaches, stick bugs, and sea stars as a volunteer at the Vancouver Aquarium. As part of the Aquarium's "Gallery Gang," she hosts special touch tables and touch pools where people can get up close to different insects and marine life. "It's definitely not what you learn looking at textbooks in school!" she says. Got a special interest in pets, animals, or livestock? Then maybe the veterinary field is for you! Both Oulton College and Saskatoon Business College can have you trained and working in months!
In 1997, young Canadians volunteered a total of 163 million hours to different organizations. Whether you're showing people sea urchins, serving cookies at a blood donor clinic or visiting with an elderly person, volunteering is a great way to develop skills, gain experience, and discover your strengths. Start today and find out how it can pay off for you, too.
Here are some suggestions for individual and group volunteer projects related to issues you may feel strongly about that would also give you the opportunity to gather some valuable work experience and new skills:
Passionate about protecting the environment?
Develop and promote a recycling program, launch an educational campaign about keeping local waterways healthy or collect recyclables and donate proceeds to a charity that is important to you.
Want to fight poverty?
Gather clothing from neighbours, help out at a local shelter, collect grocery coupons to give to the local food bank, organize a food drive or start a breakfast program at the local elementary school.
Interested in promoting animal welfare?
Walk dogs and pet cats at your local animal shelter or foster an animal (or a mom with babies) while they recover from an illness or injury for a few weeks until they are strong enough to return to an animal shelter for adoption.
Want to support children?
Become a Big Brother or Sister, tutor a younger student who needs help, offer a bicycle safety event or plan a pre-teen dance or extra-curricular activity.
Concerned about the elderly and disabled?
Paint a mural on the wall at a long-term care facility, teach an elderly person how to use a computer to email their grandchildren, plan a spring clean up day for older or disabled individuals, hold a talent show at your local nursing home, help a disabled individual with running errands or getting involved in a physical activity like swimming, or drop by with a pet.
Looking for other ways to help your community?
Start a community garden, porter at a hospital, donate blood or your time at a blood donor clinic or organize a fundraiser with the proceeds going to a charity or disaster relief effort that you want to support.
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Start volunteering today!
Contact your local volunteer centre. There's one in almost every city and they can help match your interests with an organization that needs help.
Look online for ways to help. Lots of organizations list their volunteer opportunities on their web sites.
Keep an eye on your local paper or look at the notice boards in your community centre. There are always groups looking for enthusiastic helpers.
Contact any organization you're interested in. If you know how you'd like to help, call or visit and offer your services.
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