Volunteers needed more than ever
Every moment matters. For organizations that co-create community well-being in Ontario, this has never been more true. In the face of urgent challenges — such as the rising costs of living, an aging population, social isolation and the climate crisis — it’s more important than ever to find ways to volunteer.
Connecting to pressing issues across our communities, country and planet by sharing our time, skills, empathy and creativity is fundamental to meeting this moment.
Today, 40 per cent of charities report a lasting increase in demand for services, and more than a fifth of Canadians (22 per cent) expect to rely on them for basic needs, according to the “Canada Helps Giving Report 2023.” At the same time, Canada has seen a historic decline in volunteers, with 55 per cent of charities reporting fewer volunteers than before the pandemic.
Changes to volunteer capacity has limited their return, and difficulties in recruiting and retaining consistent volunteers are causing concerns of further program closures. Ontario needs a renewed commitment to volunteering and a plan to support it, now.
Without volunteers, organizations like United for Literacy (formerly Frontier College) would not exist. Bringing literacy to communities throughout Canada since 1899, today nearly 50 per cent of its programs couldn’t run without volunteers. The trend in declining literacy levels accelerated over the past four years, and the need for support, especially for youth, has now exploded.
In Ontario alone, United for Literacy supports nearly 10,000 learners with the help of over 900 volunteers in more than 1,500 placements; they are necessary to the well-being of communities and meeting increased demand in the post-pandemic era.
Yet today, as more people work remotely, fewer volunteers are regularly in the vicinity of where inperson programs run. Canadian Heritage reports that people under 30 now make up over 40 per cent of Canada’s population. We know this generation is more digitally connected than any previous group.
To re-engage and recruit more volunteers, we are changing the ways we approach and engage with all ages.
Growing a hybrid approach of inperson volunteering augmented with online learning, we expand opportunities as well as reach. Volunteering can now happen in a moment from your desk, wherever that happens to be.
Virtual volunteering also enables organizations to serve communities where they don’t have a local presence. Increasing access in more rural locations is why United for Literacy introduced a National Online Adult Learning (NOAL) program.
In addition to underpinning important services, volunteering makes a significant difference in our own lives, like helping boost our mental-emotional health. By creating a strong bond of respect and mutual learning, volunteering supports an empathetic connection through mentorship, shared opportunities and joyful experiences.
For example, at United for Literacy’s Homework Club in Toronto’s Regent Park, the connections between university student tutors and elementary student learners are palpable. Absorbed in the moment, tutors and learners both know they matter.
As well, working together with someone from a different background, culture, or life experience, or with a different learning style, helps build connection between people and communities. By committing to volunteering, we strengthen inclusion and belonging, and contribute moment by moment to the quality of life we all strive for.
To further support volunteers and the organizations that rely on them to address our collective challenges, Volunteer Canada is developing and implementing a National Volunteer Action Strategy and is hopeful for an investment from the federal government.
During this National Volunteer Week, we celebrate volunteers and their importance to our nation’s well-being. Whatever we can contribute is valued and needed. Right now, every moment matters.