Those who want to volunteer during the pandemic will see plenty of new opportunities this year to do so, according to the director of the People and Information Network (PIN), Kim Cusimano.
The pandemic has brought on many challenges for non-profits and volunteers, but they continue to take steps to adapt to the situation.
“When COVID was first emerging, organizations, nonprofits and charities were assessing what they can offer, how to alter their service, how were they going to meet demand?” said Cusimano, head of the organization that connects volunteers and charities needing them.
“Organizations continued to transition, and to meet their demand, started creating new roles and virtual roles… re-thinking how they were going to deliver service.”
Throughout the pandemic, Cusimano said organizations across the province have seen a 42 per cent decrease in volunteers contacting them about volunteering in 2020, even though there was a rise in new volunteers.
“There was this sort-of dichotomy of supply and demand,” she explains, “Some of the things that folks were interested in sharing their time with, there wasn’t a formal role for that.”
“On the other hand, there were certain cases where individuals haven’t volunteered before, but felt compelled to help.”
Cusimano adds while many nonprofits faced a volunteer shortage, others saw a 23 per cent increase in offers to help.
“I liken that to the work of the SEED,” she said, of the Guelph organization that battles food insecurity. “That really ramped up and it was an opportunity that people could get involved in.
“It had some media presence, and stories that were being told about the work that they are doing, and so I see that would have attracted more people to volunteer.”
She also mentions that individuals sought out more organic opportunities to help their community. Some examples include families participating in fundraisers, neighbours checking up on neighbours, and more.
“Talking with peer volunteer centres across the country, similar sort-of organic things were happening as well,” she said about these developments.
“It’s a shining example of the human spirit.”
This year, she said volunteers are still needed for COVID support and for other positions, including volunteer drivers and leaders on charity boards.
To help address these gaps, PIN has created a new initiative with city funded support, called the COVID Community Changemaker.
This initiative will focus on three key areas to develop safe opportunities to volunteer: virtual volunteering, light volunteering and high touch volunteering.
She explains that light volunteering is low contact opportunities, like delivering food, where high touch volunteering involves higher engagement with the public, such as greeting clients.
“We have lots of charities who would be interested in volunteers for all three sections of these streams,” said Cusimano.
While Cusimano admits some options may not be available for everyone, such as virtual roles, the new program will still make a difference for many organizations in need.
“We want to just make sure that the word is out there that people have the option,” Cusimano continues, “For some that might who feel like volunteering isn’t an option right now, that we can help explain to them that there are ways to get involved
PIN encourages interested individuals to learn more about volunteering during COVID through their virtual Q&A sessions on Facebook. To learn about upcoming sessions, click here.
As PIN celebrates its 20 year anniversary, Cusimano said they will continue to help individuals learn what their best volunteer options are in 2021.
“I think there is some work ahead for all of us to consider what is volunteering, how can I give back?” she said, “Is that informally, through that neighbour to neighbour connection? Or is that formally where you’re supporting a non-profit or charity? ”
To learn more about COVID Community Changemaker, go to pinnetwork.ca.
