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Volunteer Markham Rebrands as Volunteer Connect;York Region Expansion into new areas means more opportunities for others

For Immediate Release:
Markham, Ontario –(March 21, 2023) —Volunteer Markham, the local volunteer centre, in York Region has officially changed its name to Volunteer Connect, York Region.

This change represents the organization’s evolution and commitment to inclusion and engagement while we service the York Region South communities.

Volunteer Connect, York Region is dedicated to providing south York Region residents and volunteer organizations with leadership and resources to promote volunteerism and enrich the lives of those in our community. This is done by building meaningful partnerships by matching individuals to opportunities and connecting the private, public and non-profit sectors.

“We are excited to unveil our new name and brand which better reflects our mission and vision”, said

Arthur Chow, Chair, Board of Directors. “ As we continue to grow and expand our service with Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Stouffville as well as Markham, we want our name to be more inclusive of the entire York Region South communities.

Volunteer Connect, York Region, will continue to provide high quality services and support to volunteers and non-profit organizations throughout the southern York Region. We are committed to promoting volunteerism, building community and corporate partnerships and creating positive change for all residents including Youth, New Canadians and Seniors. As we grow in the community, we are fortunate and grateful for the generous support and sponsorships received, including: Telus, MNP, Trillium and 407ETR.

This new name and brand will be reflected in all of our marketing materials; including website, social media channels and communications. If you’re interested in learning more or wish to donate or are seeking sponsorship opportunities, please visit us at www. volunteerconnect.ca.

We are seeking volunteer nominations for our recognition program. You may nominate an individual or team prior to April 30th.

For more information, please contact;
Thanah Sriskantha
Program Manager
Volunteer Connect York Region
289-469-5346 or thanah.sriskantha@volunteerconnect.ca

Juile Bannerjea
Chief Marketing Officer,
Volunteer Connect, York Region
416-527-1804 or Julie.Bannerjea@volunteerconnect.ca

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Newcomer Housing Host Webinar

Community Connector Corrina Santos attended the Costi Housing Host Webinar Oct 19th representing Volunteer Markham and partnering with Volunteer Toronto, Volunteer MBC to inform Ukrainian newcomers about volunteering opportunities available to them and their children. Volunteering can help foster a sense of community togetherness by building relationships and networking opportunities.  

“COSTI has taken on the responsibility of organizing accommodation for Ukrainian newcomers and essential orientation and referral services in the Greater Toronto Area. A team of COSTI Housing Workers and Settlement Counsellors are ready and available to support the families.

All Ukrainian newcomer families are received by the Canadian Red Cross, given a welcome package, and transferred to either a settlement organization or to COSTI. Families are then matched by COSTI with vetted volunteer hosts for accommodation.

Once settled and feeling comfortable in their new home, families will receive short-term support with their immediate needs: help with enrolling their children in school; medical, health and financial needs, information and referral services to help access employment opportunities and the labour market and English as a Second Language classes. Our Settlement Workers also lend their support in helping Ukrainian newcomers become familiar with their new neighbourhood and community supports.”

For more information visit: www.costi.org
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Volunteer Markham receives $49,600 Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant

Markham, ON – On Friday, Markham-Unionville MPP Billy Pang met online with representatives from Volunteer Markham to hear how a $49,600 Resilient Communities Fund grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is making a significant impact on their work in the community. The Resilient Communities Fund grant program was designed by OTF to help non-profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19.

“Congratulations to Volunteer Markham for receiving, once again, the Resilient Communities Fund from Ontario Trillium Foundation,” said Billy Pang, MPP for Markham-Unionville. “With this additional grant of $49,600, I look forward to seeing many Markham residents discover their love for volunteerism and engage themselves in helping others in need.”

Since receiving the one-year grant in the spring, Volunteer Markham has been busy providing a matching service designed to help volunteers and community organizations across York Region. Funds from the grant are being used to help with staffing costs for a Volunteer Coordinator to oversee this program. In addition, the grant is helping Volunteer Markham with some administrative costs, purchasing online software licenses and doing more online advertising, website enhancement and buying new technical equipment too.

 “If we hadn’t had the funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to help do these things, we’d be in a very, very different position today,” said George Sheen Fundraising Chair of Volunteer Markham. “The new funding will take us now in in a broader direction to help reconnect better with our charity partners and with our volunteers to do things in a unique and different way that we haven’t done in the past.”

The grant is helping fulfil Volunteer Markham’s mission of building stronger communities through innovative programming that inspire, inform and connect volunteers with the organizations that need them. To learn more about Volunteer Markham’s programs or to become involved, please visit: www.volunteermarkham.ca 

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) mission is to build healthy and vibrant communities across Ontario. As an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations, last year, OTF invested nearly $209M into 2,042 community projects and partnerships, which included funding for the Government of Ontario’s Community Building Fund. Since 2020, OTF has supported Ontario’s economic recovery by helping non-profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Visit otf.ca to learn more.  

Link to youtube video: VM announcement of Trillium Grant 2 – YouTube

Media Contact:
Thanah Sriskantha, Program Manager
Volunteer Markham
289-469-5346
thanah.sriskantha@volunteermarkham.ca

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#VMBehindTheScenes

Councillor Reid McAlpine and Volunteer Markham working Behind the Scenes on Youth Engagement Funding        #VMBehindTheScenes

Councillor Reid McAlpine, member of the Volunteer Markham Campaign Cabinet, is working behind the scenes to help build sustainable funding to support Youth Volunteerism in Markham.  As an active committee member, he understands the value that youth volunteers bring to our communities at all levels.

At Volunteer Markham, youth profiles have almost tripled in our database this school year.  Youth volunteer seekers are eagerly looking for meaningful opportunities to give back to their community and earn their community engagement hours.

Volunteer Markham is partnered with high schools in the City of Markham and prior to the pandemic, had more than 2,400 students completing over 10,000 volunteer hours during their campaign period.

Change the World (CTW) Markham is the open and inclusive youth division under Volunteer Markham and comprises high school students working virtually to develop educational materials on the importance of volunteering, create a social marketing presence to motivate youth, assist their peers in securing volunteer opportunities and deliver impactful initiatives to meet community needs.  

Be sure to visit the CTW Markham page at volunteermarkham.ca and stay connected to us through our social media, newsletters and regular visits online to watch the impact youth are making!  To learn more about youth volunteering or to join this team reach email: hello@volunteermarkham.ca

We are fortunate to have Councillor McAlpine as an instrumental part of growing volunteerism in Markham.  Besides his role as a City Councillor for Unionville Ward 3, he is a Champion for Volunteers!  

Cheers to all volunteer!

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#VMBehindTheScenes

Bringing a voice to youth and telling their stories; Thivya, founder of YouSpoken shares her initiative.  “If youth don’t tell their stories, who will?”

 “Happy New Year to all!  We are beyond thrilled to announce the start of recruitment for YouSpoken.  YouSpoken is a  youth-oriented group focused on sharing the stories of young people.  Focusing on the reconciliation of youth from traumatic and challenging paths, we build connections to support a network of trust and movement in publicizing the voices and stories of young people.  We are looking for young people to come on board and join the team.  YouSpoken values passion over experience when building an inclusive space for making a difference in the lives of people just like us.  Whether your interests lie in marketing, digital content creation, story-telling, videography or general volunteerism, please do not hesitate to sign up or ask questions.  Thank you and we look forward to our journey in 2022!” Thivya

 
 

YouSpoken is a space to share and learn.  “If youth don’t tell their stories, who will?”

Thivya has her own story and can share her challenges in bringing YouSpoken to life.  Given her young age, Thivya was met with setbacks and struggles to gain credibility and trust.  Through her dedication, hard work and perseverance she gained strong support from funders, agencies and most importantly youth themselves.  This journey has only begun.  Stay tuned!

 

#WeSeeYou #TogetherWeCan #VMBehindTheScenes #BuildBackBetter #VolunteersChangeLives #VMCaughtinAction

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#VMBehindTheScenes

TOGETHER WE CAN!  Volunteer Markham is excited to support Student Helpers!  This team of volunteers are eager to help seniors with their IT challenges, remotely, FOR FREE, across North America!

Meet Matt from Student Helpers, a technology support hotline for seniors.  

Matt volunteers with over 100 eager Student Helpers to provide a free hotline for seniors to call when they have day-to-day technology questions. They are a student-run non-profit initiative that is ready to answer the phone and help seniors at any time.

Matt, a recent graduate from the University of Guelph, is most proud of his accomplishment of starting a business while he was in school and winning a deal on CBC’s Dragons’ Den. He is active in the startup community and loves helping others.   Matt is joined by many warm and passionate students who want to help!

#WeSeeYou #TogetherWeCan #VMBehindTheScenes #BuildBackBetter #VolunteersChangeLives #VMCaughtinAction

With a quick visit to Studenthelpers.ca you will easily understand their mission.

“Everyone wants to be able to help seniors but we cannot always be there for our parents and grandparents”.  This team is set up to be an extra support to seniors at anytime.  Not only do they help directly support seniors, they will readily help organizations and people working with them as well.

Who hasn’t had challenges with a Zoom call, setting up a Facebook Account, retrieving a password?

Simply call their toll free line at 1-833-989-TALK (8255) and they will connect you with a vetted volunteer who can quickly and remotely assist you.

Call to action: Student Helpers is looking to partner with our communities!  If you are connected to seniors at a community centre, in a nonprofit or charity organization or a seniors residence, reach out to them today.

Email at: hello@studenthelpers.ca

Hotline: 1-833-989-TALK(8255)

General Inquiries:  416-887-7822

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#VMBehindTheScenes

TOGETHER WE CAN!  Partners across York Region join together to pave a path for  newcomers to enjoy and gain Canadian Experiences.

York Region Local Immigration Partnership is a team of organizations and people addressing the needs and identifying the gaps in services and opportunities for newcomers.

The York Region Newcomer Guide (January 2021) highlights the diversity celebrated across York Region. “More than 51,000 recent immigrants to Canada live in York Region (immigrants who arrived in Canada between 2011 and 2016) and 47% of all residents were born outside of Canada

People from all over the world live here. Our residents speak more than 120 different languages and come from 230 distinct ethnic origins.”

#WeSeeYou #TogetherWeCan

Our most recent discussion revolved around the various programs, services and initiatives that are currently available for newcomers here in York Region and how to further help newcomers gain Canadian experiences.  

The team identified a need to create friendly, relatable language that is easily understood by newcomers, how volunteerism can help root newcomers in their communities and gain Canadian experiences and how to best share this information to newcomers.

Opportunities presented included sharing best practices, cross promoting programs and services offered and making strong connections to further enhance newcomer supports.

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#VMBehindTheScenes

TOGETHER WE CAN!
Our Community Behind the Scenes
with Volunteer Canada and the Canadian Volunteer Centre Network.

Volunteer Markham is an active and engaged member of Volunteer Canada.  “Volunteer Canada works in partnership with the Canadian Volunteer Centre Network, which includes local volunteer centres and provincial associations of volunteer centres, to strengthen volunteering and citizen engagement. Beyond working in their own communities, volunteer centres recognize that they can have a greater impact as a larger network of more than 200 volunteer centres and provincial/territorial associations of volunteer centres. The Canadian Volunteer Centre Network strengthens volunteer centres, individually and collectively, to better promote volunteering, provide leadership on volunteer engagement and make connections in their own communities and across Canada. Establishing a common voice and building a cohesive knowledge base strengthens volunteering and increases the impact of volunteer centres locally, provincially and nationally. “

During our November meeting the Volunteer Centre’s shared resources, best practices, trends and concerns in their communities.  The main discussions revolved around youth engagement as well as vaccination policies and trends.  Opportunities for additional learnings and upcoming events and webinars were highlighted.  

Leaving this months meeting sparked the idea of exploring the creation of a National Youth Volunteer Network, creating a ‘micro volunteering’ campaign and updating our Events Calendar to share some valuable webinars to our members.  So stay tuned on how these may be part of our engagement work in the New Year.

We are all looking forward to celebrating across the nation International Volunteer Day (#IVD) on December 5th.

#Togetherwecan #BuildBackBetter #WeSeeYou #VMBehindTheScenes

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#BuildBackBetter with the Ontario Volunteer Centre Network

We are grateful for Ontario’s 5.08 million volunteers!  As part of the network of Volunteer Centres here in Ontario, we are advocating and celebrating this season.  During the Thanksgiving Holiday we shared our gratitude for the 3.3 million volunteer seekers and the 4,300 nonprofits we engaged with and we are not stopping here!  Help us spread the word, read our Open Letter here, and let’s celebrate:

November 5th – National Volunteer Managers Day

December 5th – International Volunteer Day (IVD)

WE SEE YOU!

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Behind the Scenes Journey to Community Recovery through Volunteerism

TOGETHER WE CAN!
Our Community Behind the Scenes
with The Ontario Volunteer Centre Network (OVCN)

Volunteer Markham proudly represents York Region on the OVCN.  We join our Volunteer Centre partners across Ontario as seen here to build a stronger, caring community through volunteerism.  This past Thanksgiving, we worked together in publishing a co-authored, open letter to acknowledge the essential and ongoing contributions of volunteer managers and our province’s 5.08 million volunteers.  Read excerpts from this letter below:

“The reality is that the pandemic has impacted the volunteer infrastructure in Ontario.  To recover from COVID-19, we need to invest in people.  Ontario volunteers contribute $2.07B to Canada’s GDP as volunteerism plays a critical role in delivering essential programs, building personal opportunity (skills and employment) and fostering inclusion”

“You may be surprised to know that 1 in 2 organizations have laid-off or permanently re-deployed their volunteer leaders.  This trend has significantly disrupted volunteer engagement across Ontario as volunteer demand outstrips the supply of available positions.”

 

“Over the past 18 months OVCN members have build connections with 4,300 nonprofits and 3.3 million volunteer seekers from every demographic and we’re here to work with community partners and the provincial government to ensure we harness the Ontario Spirit as we #BuildBackBetter because every Ontarian benefits from the contribution of volunteers.”

 

Across Ontario and on behalf of Volunteer Markham and the OVCN, we are grateful for:  Ontario’s 5.08 million volunteers.  We are here for you!  #VolunteerYorkRegion #VolunteerMarkham #VolunteerCentres #StrongerTogether #BuildBackBetter