So You Want to be a Volunteer?
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Part of OCY’s mission and vision is to help young people put their faith in action, and doing community service is a very good way to go about accomplishing this. Therefore, we hope to give you the tools to prepare and debrief social action / service projects.
Whether you’re a person looking for a long-term placement or a group wanting to volunteer together but don’t know how to go about it, we would like to help. The following resources include lists of potential placements and material to help you make sense of your experience. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the OCY.
Service Resources:
- Organizations accepting volunteers listed by type:
- Children/Youth
- Environment
- International Organizations
- Elderly
- Physical/Mental Health Issues
- Homeless (Soup kitchen &Shelters)
- Hunger (food banks)
- Volunteer Databases – links to professionally administered regional databases of volunteer opportunities & positions
- General/National
- Peel
- Durham
- York
- Markham
- Toronto
- North
- Volunteering from A to Z: 26 ways to volunteer independent of an organization.
- Ideas for community drives & fundraisers
- Make your daily life a form of community service
- Service 101: Planning, prepping and debriefing your service experience
1. Organizations accepting volunteers listed by type
a. Children / Youth
The Refuge of Oshawa
Site Address: 10 Mary St. S, Oshawa, L1H 8M3
Phone: 1-905-404-2420
Email: contactus@refugeoutreach.com
Website: http://www.refugeoutreach.com/
Possible Tasks: The Refuge is a drop-in centre for at-risk youth. They are in need of volunteers to help especially with maintenance and baking.
Bloorview Macmillan Children’s Centre
Site Address: 51 King Street East Oshawa ON L1H 1B4.
Email: volunteers@bloorviewmacmillan.on.ca
Website: http://www.bloorviewmacmillan.on.ca
Possible Tasks: This is a rehabilitation home for children with illnesses.
Bridges for Youth
Site Address: 290 Jarvis St. Toronto
Phone: 416-963-0008
Email: bridges@bridgesforyouth.ca
Website: Possible Tasks: Youth drop-in Centre
b. Environment
Evergreen
Site Address: Varied, most likely Earle Bales Park (Shepherd and Bathurst) or Erindale Park (Mississauga)
Phone: 416-596-1495, ext. 40.
Website: www.evergreen.ca
Possible Tasks: planting trees, invasive species removal, picking up garbage
c. International Organizations
Christian Blind Mission International
Site Address: 3844 Stouffville Rd, Ontario
Office Phone: 905 640-6464
Website: http://www.cbmi-can.org/
Possible Tasks: Dictating books for books-on-tape or reading to blind people, other library tasks & duties where they arise
.
Sharing Fair
Site Address: 25 Good Shepperd Crt., Toronto ON
Office Phone: 416-818-4145, 416-787428
Email: sharingfair@wwonline.com
Possible Tasks: Sharing Fair helps to empower women in dangerous situations overseas to get back on their feet by earning their own money with dignity. They purchase craft items made by these women and re-sell them in Canada. Volunteers would assist with packaging these items for distribution.
d. Elderly
Cummer Lodge Home for the Aged
Site Address: 205 Cummer Ave, Toronto, ON M2M 2E8
Phone: 416 392-9500
Possible Tasks: Friendly visiting, sharing a meal, performing
Providence Healthcare
Site Address: 3276 St. Clair Avenue East, Toronto, M1L 1W1
Phone: (416) 285-3666 ext 4010
Website: http://www.providence.on.ca/
Possible Tasks: friendly visiting with seniors or rehabilitation patients.
Loyola Arrupe Centre for Seniors
Site Address: 1709 Bloor St. West, Toronto, M6G1M2
Phone: 416-766-7977
Possible Tasks: Friendly visiting, serving coffee, musical performance
Carmel Heights Sisters Retirement Residence
Site Address: 1720 Sherwood Forest Cir, Mississauga, L5K 1R1
Phone: (905) 822-5298
Website: www.carmelheights.ca
Possible Tasks: Visiting, cleaning.
Sheridan Villa
Site Address: 460 Truscott Dr, Mississauga L5J 3Z8
Phone: 905-791-8668 ext 2933
Possible Tasks: Visiting with seniors, playing bingo
e. Physical/Mental Health Issues
Our Place Community of Hope
Site Address: 2A Elm St., Toronto (Dundas & Yonge)
Phone: 416-598-2919
Website: www.ourplacecommunityofhope.com
Possible Tasks: friendly visiting with those suffering from mental-illness
Mary Centre for the Archdiocese of Toronto
Site Address: Varied – houses exist all over the city and the main office is in Toronto.
Phone: 416-630-5533 ext 227
Website: www.marycentre.com
Possible Tasks: visiting with developmentally challenged adults, cleaning premises
Community Living Huronia
Site Address: 339 Olive Street, Midland, L4R 2R4
Phone: (705) 526-4253 Ext. 215
Website: www.clhmidland.on.ca
Possible Tasks: Sorting food into smaller packages or re-distribution
f. Homeless (Soup Kitchens & Shelters)
Habitat for Humanity Re-store
Site Address: 575 Penrose St, Newmarket, ON L3Y 5L5
Office Phone: 905 868-8722
Website: www.hfhyr.ca
Possible Tasks: rehabilitating wood and other items for re-sale (warehouse work)
Habitat for Humanity Re-Store - Brampton
Site Address: 268 Rutherford Rd. South, Unit 3, Brampton, ON L6W 3N3
Phone: (905) 445-0883
Volunteer Contact: Daryl Morrison - Manager
Email: habitatbrampton@bellnet.ca
Website: http://www.habitat.ca/restores.html
Possible Tasks: rehabilitating wood and other items for re-sale (warehouse work)
Habitat for Humanity Toronto-East Re-Store
Site Address: 29 Bermondsey Road, Toronto, ON M4B 1Z7
Phone: (416) 755-7353
Volunteer Contact: Dylan Scott/David Winn
Website: http://www.habitat.ca/restores.html
Possible Tasks: rehabilitating wood and other items for re-sale (warehouse work)
David Busby Street Centre
Site Address: 24 Collier Street, Barrie, L4M 1G6
Office Phone: 705-739-6916
Possible Tasks: assisting with shelter duties, such as sorting food, folding, cleaning.
Evangel Hall
Site Address: 573 Queen St West, Toronto
Phone: 416-504-3563 ext. 228.
Website: www.evangelhall.ca
Possible Tasks: serving food at the community meal
Good Shepherd
Site Address: 412 Queen Street East, Toronto
Phone: (416) 869-3619 ext. 262
Website: www.goodshepherd.ca
Possible Tasks: sorting food, sorting clothes, making beds, serving meals
St. Francis Table
Site Address: 1322 Queen St. West, Toronto, M6K 1L4
Phone: 416-532-4172
Email: sftable@capuchinoutreach.org
Website: www.capuchinoutreach.org
Possible Tasks: Serving meal
St Vincent’s Kitchen
Site Address: 51 King Street East Oshawa ON L1H 1B4.
Phone: 905- 434-7543
Website: http://durhamcharities.com/StVincentsKitchen/
Possible Tasks: St. Vincent’s Kitchen is a low-cost restaurant located in downtown Oshawa. This organisation strives to provide a community atmosphere and a low-cost meal to the less fortunate. Tasks will include preparing and serving a meal to those in need.
Mustard Seed
Site Address: 791 Queen St. West, Toronto
Phone: 416-465-6069
Email: mustardseed@bellnet.ca
Volunteer Contact: Sister Gwen Smith
Possible Tasks: preparing sandwiches for Street Patrol, furniture arrangement
The Scott Mission
Site Address: 502 Spadina Avenue in TorontoPhone: 416-465-6069
Website: http://www.scottmission.com/
Possible Tasks: General shelter duties (bed making, organizing, meal preparation)
Street Patrol
Call Lucio (chief organizer) at (416) 738-9197 or e-mail at la_inmylife@sympatico.ca
(operates during the summer only)
g. Hunger (food banks)
Salvation Army – North Peel Branch
Site Address: 115 West Dr, Brampton, ON L6T 2J6
Phone: (905) 451-8840
Possible Tasks: sorting clothing, warehouse work
North York Harvest Food Bank
Site Address: 640 Lawrence Ave. West, Toronto
Phone: 416-635-7771
Website: www.northyorkharvestfoodbank.com
Possible Tasks: Sorting food into smaller packages or re-distribution
Second Harvest
Site Address: 1450 Lodestar Rd. unit 18, North York, M3J 2C1
Office Phone: 416-408-2594
Website: www.secondharvest.ca
Possible Tasks: sorting food into smaller and more manageable portions, warehouse
The Stop
Site Address: 1884 Davenport Rd, Rear Entrance, Toronto, M6N 4Y2
Office Phone: 416-652-7867 ext. 227
Website: http://www.thestop.org/volunteer.php
Possible Tasks: Food Bank: food distributor, intake volunteer, volunteer interviewer, and volunteer food handler. Healthy Beginnings: Intake volunteer, support worker, food distribution volunteer, and advisory committee member, special events volunteer, and cooking class assistant. Community gardens: gardener, educator, tour guide, planter.
2. Volunteer Databases
a. General / National
o http://gateway.cioc.ca/
o http://www.volunteersonline.ca/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=11
o http://www.actsofkindness.org/file_uploads/files/11_pdf.pdf
o http://www.makeachildsmile.org
o http://www.web.net/~interchg/
o http://www.catholiccharitiestor.org/web_links.htm
b. Peel
o http://peel.cioc.ca/start.asp
o http://www.volunteerpeel.com/
c. Durham
o Web Volunteer
o www.volunteerdurham.org
o http://durhamcharities.com/
o http://www.ycdsb.edu.on.ca/html/Religion/christianserviceagencies.html
d. York
o http://www.region.york.on.ca/NR/yorklink/
o http://york.cioc.ca/volunteer/
e. Markham
o http://www.helpmate.volnetmmp.net/
f. Toronto
o http://whorlpool.905host.net/files/toronto_community_services.htm
o http://www.volunteertoronto.on.ca/
o http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/2744/shel4.html
o http://www.volrap.org/default.asp
g. North
o http://communitylinksimcoe.cioc.ca
o http://simcoe.biz/community-services.php
o http://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/contacts/comorgs.htm
o http://www.unitedwaysimcoecounty.on.ca/yaidirectory2002.htm
o http://psc.scdsb.on.ca/volunteer_opportunities.htm
o http://www.kinark.on.ca/volunteer/simcoe.htm
3. Volunteering from A to Z:
26 ways to volunteer independent of an organization
- Clean up around the parish – both inside and out. Wash the pews, pick up garbage, plant flowers.
- Offer to help members of the parish community with things like grocery shopping or house-cleaning activities.
- Offer the group’s services at the local community center or library.
- Put on some sort of event at your parish for the community, like a BBQ or a performance.
- Offer to give parents a “Free Morning” by hosting a giant “day-care” for their kids.
- Host a “Free Car Wash” or host a car wash as a fundraiser for a charity
- Plant trees in the local park
- Have a “free bake sale” or a bake sale to raise money for charity.
- Offer to clean classrooms at the local school so the custodians don’t have to do it
- Perform at a nursing home – put on a talent show.
- Do yard-work for neighbours or members of the parish community – mowing the lawn, weeding, etc. If you want, have a sign-up sheet where the members of your parish can request the group’s help specifically.
- Go to the grocery store and offer to help people load their cars and carry their groceries.
- Bake cookies and share them with neighbours.
- Run a book drive or DVD/VHS drive and donate the goods to an organization of your choice (hospitals, nursing homes, youth shelters, etc are good targets). Or, have a book/DVD sale of the donated goods and donate the money to a charity.
- Get together to make fun cards/get well soon/cheer up to give out to people in nursing homes or children in hospitals. If you can, arrange for the group to go and deliver them personally. If not, drop them off at a local hospital and ask the staff to include the cards with one of the meals they hand out.
- Get together to bake some good food and drop it off at a local shelter
- See if anyone is interested in promoting youth group/OCY/Sharelife/another charity by speaking at the parish or at a nearby parish about their experiences.
- Call your local municipal government office and see if your neighbourhood or area needs people to help with beautification – washing away graffiti, picking up garbage, etc.
- Host a big picnic in a local park. Make signs inviting anybody who wants to come for food & games, to help build community.
- Run a drive to collect old Christmas cards, then use them to re-make new ones to hand out to the less fortunate at Christmas time.
- Put together shoebox care packages to send to those less fortunate in other countries, or in shelters at home. These could include toiletries, magazines, decks of playing cards, socks, etc.
- Go around the neighbourhood and collect used pop cans, to pull off the tabs. These tabs can be used to help purchase new wheelchairs for those in need.
- See if any religious congregations would like people to visit with the elderly nuns, priests, or brothers who live there. For a list of these orders, visit http://www.ca-catholics.net/toronto/orders-f.htm
- Ask businesses if they would like to have their windows cleaned by your group – for free!
- See if your church or another non-profit organization needs help repainting their office.
- On a hot day, give away cold drinks to people out walking or out in the park.
4. Ideas for Community Drives and Fundraisers:
- Books
- CDs and tapes
- DVDs, VHS
- Chapstick (variety of flavours)
- Coloured pencils, gel pens, markers, arts & crafts supplies
- School Supplies
- Socks & hats
- Decks of playing cards
- Hair care items (brushes, big tooth combs, pony tail holders, hair clips)
- General Toiletries
- Nail polish (individually wrapped & new)
- Video games
- Word search books/Crosswords/Colouring books
- Canned Goods
- Non-perishable foods
5. Make your daily life a form of community service!
Here’s a list of the little things we can do everyday to be people of service:
- Smile! You & everybody else will be happier because of it
- Let people ahead of you. In lines, when you are driving, when you are walking – wherever!
- Say nice things to others.
- Listen.
- Do the task that nobody wants to do, like taking out the garbage or washing the dishes.
- Be friends with someone who seems lonely. Talk to the person that nobody talks to.
- Thank people for what they contribute to your life & the lives of others.
- Hold open doors for others.
- Try to be a forgiving person – let go of grudges. See the other side. Be less quick to judge.
- Try to conserve resources and energy. Print double-sided, turn off lights when you’re not in the room, take public transportation.
- Be generous with your time and your joy.
- Try to stay positive.
6. Service 101
Planning Your Service Activity
- Confirm with the placement a few days in advance of your volunteering event
- Make sure that you have the contact information for the person who will be on site when you volunteer (sometimes this person is different from the person who you might have arranged the event with)
- Explain in detail to the group beforehand so that people feel comfortable and ready to take on the experience
- Take note of any special instructions from the placement (like the way to dress, what to bring, etc). Make sure that everyone you bring matches the ages required for the placement. Also take note of any preceding special requirements, like police checks or screening or orientation sessions.
How to Prepare For and Debrief Your Service Experience
Before:
- Think about the issues that are most important to you. Consider what you wish to gain from the experience of volunteering. By volunteering, you can learn new skills, meet new people, gain a sense of achievement, build your resume, help others and most importantly have fun!
- Check out several organizations or try a volunteer referral resource.
- Have a clear understanding of the organization’s expectations of the volunteer.
- Become aware of the mission, services and origins of the organization. Feel a connection to the organization.
- Think about your skills. This will help you and the organization decide on an appropriate volunteer assignment.
- Coordinate a time commitment matching what the organization needs with your weekly schedule.
After:
Sample questions to ask the group.
1.
• What is the difference between generosity, charity, justice, and social change?
• Name three things that stuck in your mind about the service experience.
• How were you different when you left the service site compared to when you entered?
• How did the people’s responses make you feel?
• How did the service site make you feel?
• What brings people to the service site (both people seeking service and the volunteers)?
• How are you similar/different to the people you met?
• In what ways did being different help/hinder the group?
• What have you learned about yourself?
• How does this experience compare to others you’ve had?
• What have you learned about a particular community or societal issue?
• How did this experience challenge your assumptions and stereotypes?
• Do you think these people (or situations) are unique? Why or why not?
• What public policies are involved and what are their implications? How can they be improved?
• Who determines what’s best for the community?
• How would you do this differently if you were in charge?
• Did you feel like a part of the community you were working in?
• How do you define community?
• Describe an internal or external conflict that has surfaced for you during your service work.
• Discuss a social problem that you have come in contact with during your service work. What do you think are the root causes of this problem? Explain how your service may or may not contribute to its alleviation.
2.
i. What surprised you about the experience?
ii. What touched you most deeply?
iii. What did you find most frustrating? Most hopeful?
- SO WHAT difference did it make?
1. Were there any stereotypes you held about this issue/these people? Have they been changed by the service? How?
2. Where did you see Jesus in the work you did?
3. How were you Jesus for others? How were others Jesus for you?
- NOW WHAT are you going to do?
1. What social justice issues stick out in your mind as a result of the service? How were justice and injustice present in the situations you faced today?
2. What more can be done to address this issue?
3. Is there something you will change as a result of this experience?
Want more information about how to prepare and debrief service activities?
Check out Development & Peace’s resource titled, “So you’ve been asked to do social action?”
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