KW SVO (Kitchener-Waterloo Student Volunteer Opportunities) was created to help high school students living in the KW region to learn more about all of the great volunteer opportunities that are available to them here!
KYAC (Kitchener Youth Action Council) is a group of Kitchener youth aged 14 to 24, whose goal is to promote and recognize the things that youth do in the community, address certain issues and run special events. This is group is run by the City of Kitchener.
Students wishing to join KYAC do not need to apply; they must only show up to the meetings (which are at 6:00 pm on Thursdays at the Downtown Kitchener Community Centre). KYAC will never turn anyone away, but they do ask that you become committed. KYAC members should be willing to gain new skills and open to all people. There’s an orientation at the beginning of the year (which is retreat-like) for those that are interested in joining then, but you can join throughout the year too.
Some of the events/actions that KYAC does
- City of Kitchener Youth Awards (recognizing youth in the region for their achievements)
- Unity Jam (a concert promoting local talent)
- Partners with other groups (e.g. Pride Prom)
- Provides input to City Council
Being a KYAC member is very rewarding. First of all, all of the time spent at meetings, during events, organising, etc, all count as volunteer hours. You could also learn a lot about running different events, how to make your voice heard and recognized, teamwork, and more. It’s a great reference, it can help you to determine a career and it feels good to help others.
KYAC offers students a really neat and unique opportunity to have their voice heard. KYAC members learn so much that can be applied to many different scenarios in life. It’s a fun, easy-going group that would love to see you out to their meetings!
* In the videos, I interviewed Breanna, who was working with KYAC at the time. Breanna has since changed jobs and Dannon now runs the group. I have met both ladies, and they are both wonderful, fun people who did and is doing a great job with KYAC!
Contact Information
E-mails that will connect you with Dannon and Marla:
The City of Kitchener offers highschool students a very unique way to volunteer. It is unlike any other organisation, especially in the unlimited ways that it can help you to customize your volunteer experience. Many students enjoy volunteering with the City of Kitchener because they can make their experience their own.
The neatest thing about volunteering with the City of Kitchener is that you do not need to have a specific volunteer position in mind when you contact them, or you could have a very specific idea of something new that you would like to do. The set opportunities vary from community center to community center, so you may want to drop by your nearest center to see what programs they run. One program that highschool students could assist with is the Youth drop-in. Students could help the staff to run the events. Another great opportunity for students is KYAC (Kitchener Youth Action Council) (for more information on KYAC, please see the KYAC blog post). If you don’t have a specific idea for a placement, but would like to work locally at a community center, contact Marla or Dannon (information below), and they can help you out. Now, if you have an idea for en event or a new program that you would like to bring to life and you need assistance, contact Marla or Dannon as well and they can connect you with the right people to develop your idea and to bring it to life!
Volunteers should be open to all sorts of people, they should try to enjoy what they’re doing, they should be open to gaining new skills and they should be committed. If you are going to develop your own event/program you need to be committed to seeing it through. If you are volunteering with one of the City of Kitchener’s programs, then you must be committed to that program. The levels of commitment do vary depending on the job, as does the application process. Some positions require an interview (e.g. a position where you work with younger children would require an interview before you can begin your job). To begin any application process though, simply send an email (listed below) to get the ball rolling. Then for some positions, there is some basic training on safety, legislation, getting to know your environment, etc, but it’s not too long.
Depending on the opportunity, you may be able to volunteer with your friends and the location of your placement can be in many different spots. There are many community centers in the area and different positions available at each. You need to contact Marla, Dannon or your local community center to discover a good position for you (and there are many positions – it’s just so varied that you must decide on a location and then find the job).
In conclusion, the City of Kitchener is what you make of it. If you have no idea what you would like to volunteer as, we first recommend that you go to www.volunteerkw.ca and try to find an opportunity there. However, if that does not work, or you would like to be involved with a City of Kitchener program, or you want to start something new, then do contact Marla or Dannon.
Contact Information
E-mails that will connect you with Dannon and Marla:
The Registry Theatre is a really great place to volunteer, and it’s not just for people who love theatre! Of course if you love theatre, music and dance, then it is the perfect place to volunteer. People who like working behind the scenes with the lights and on the tech side of things could also really benefit form volunteering at the Registry Theatre. However, people who are looking for an opportunity where they get to talk to new people, serve them and develop or use their interpersonal skills would really enjoy working at the Theatre as well.
The Registry Theatre is located in downtown Kitchener and is a very welcoming theatre that is rented out to various groups throughout the year who put on plays, musical performances and dance shows that are open to the public. The Registry Theatre itself also hosts its own shows, which are usually musical performances. Volunteers help the Registry Theatre to run smoothly and make all of the visiting people’s time enjoyable.
There are numerous benefits of volunteering at the Registry Theatre. One being that it is a great community. The theatre itself is a neat place and the people that work there are very friendly and kind. The Registry Theatre is an upbeat and fun place to be. Volunteering at the theatre could also lead to bigger things. There are not many places where people can learn about lighting and sounds, for example. The Registry Theatre teaches its volunteers a lot about theatre and really does provide its volunteers with new knowledge that is not offered in many other places.
Student Volunteer Opportunities at the Registry Theatre
- Concession (includes selling food and drinks at intermission, counting sold and unsold food/drinks, setting up and cleaning up the concession stand)
- Usher (includes distribution of programs, assists in seating and directing patrons, helping in case of emergencies, seeing that the patrons are comfortable and not doing anything wrong during the show)
- Tech crew (helping to run the lights and sound board, and possibly setting up for the show)
To become a volunteer, you should send an email saying that you would like to become a volunteer and outlining your interests to email listed below. There is an application form on the Theatre’s website, but filling it out is no longer required (if you would like to fill it out or use it as a guideline though for your email, that’s fine!). You will get an email back confirming that your email was received and that more information is to come when more volunteers are needed. The Registry Theatre recruits volunteers about four times a year now, and so once you send your email, you will begin volunteering with a maximum of three months. The only required skill for volunteering at the Theatre is that you should be able to interact with people well, seeing as the basis of all of the volunteer opportunities is working with people. The Theatre sees its volunteers as “ambassadors for the Theatre”, so acting respectively to all patrons is also very important. Volunteers are asked to wear black bottoms, a white shirt, a name tag and are to refrain from wearing any scents as a courtesy to the other patrons and volunteers who may be sensitive to some scents.
Volunteers sign up for days that they would like to volunteer. An email of upcoming volunteer dates is sent out and students can pick which days they would like to volunteer. Usually, you will get the dates that you would like. Volunteering with friends and/or family is possible and will try to be accommodated.
The Sunnyside Long Term Care Home, operated by the region of Waterloo, is a place for older adults to live, who require some extra help to get around and do all of the things that they need to do. It is really a great place to volunteer! The residents are treated so well, the staff is very kind and the volunteers are always appreciated.
The best thing about volunteering at Sunnyside is definitely all of the people! Volunteers will get to know the seniors that they volunteer with, as well as the staff. I actually am a volunteer at Sunnyside right now, and I visit a few people, one of which is Trevor (seen in the video below). Trevor has many very amusing stories to tell me and our conversation flows easily. I enjoy my meetings with him, as well as with the other lovely ladies that I visit. The residents and staff both appreciate the volunteers very much, and it feels great to just help them out. Most of the residents at Sunnyside don’t leave the building much, so new people coming in every once in a while can really brighten up their day.
Student Volunteer Opportunities available at Sunnyside
- Friendly Visitor (involves spending time with a resident. Could mean sitting and chatting, going for a walk outside, playing a game, doing a craft, etc.)
- Transporting people to the chapel on Sunday mornings
- Transporting and aiding people to play BINGO
- Computer assistant (sits with residents and helps them to work on the computer)
- Helping out with special events and fundraisers (e.g. Walk and Roll – an annual fundraiser)*This could be a “one time” volunteer opportunity, if you are looking for that.
- Running the Gift shop or Tuck shop (using the cash register, getting retail experience)
- Bringing people to and from the Hair Salon (in the summer)
There are a few administrative positions offered at Sunnyside for those who are interested in perhaps getting some office experience, such as photocopying and mailing, but most positions do involve working with the people.
There is no required time commitment for volunteering at Sunnyside, though they do hope that you will volunteer more than just a few times. When you volunteer at Sunnyside, you form relationships with different people there and it is encouraged that you keep coming back, so that you can maintain those relationships. They’re not asking for a life commitment, but a commitment for half a year or more would probably be a good goal because of the nature of the volunteer program that Sunnyside has set up. Now, some volunteers may wish to set up a schedule, where they come in to do their job once a week on the same day every week, and that is an option. However, if you are looking for something a little bit more flexible, Sunnyside definitely offers you that option as well. For example, if you are a friendly visitor, you can volunteer whenever the resident you see is available. There are many options for scheduling your volunteer time at Sunnyside.
Most volunteers volunteer alone. A group of friends could all apply, but they would all have to do so individually. If they all became volunteers, then they could perhaps volunteer together to do certain jobs, though most positions really only need one person. There are instances though, where say a group of friends wanted to volunteer playing music once a month. They would probably not need to go through the whole application process.
To become a Sunnyside volunteer, a student must first meet with Janice, the volunteer co-ordinator. After determining that volunteering at Sunnyside would be a good fit for the student, the student must fill out an application form and get two reference forms filled out (they’re not very long – most students ask their teachers to fill them out). Then, the new volunteer would attend an orientation session.
The volunteer training is fairly quick. Once accepted, volunteers will usually have an orientation session that’s about an hour long, where they will get a tour of the facilities and learn more about how to act and communicate with the residents. Then most volunteer positions offer training on the job, so the training doesn’t really feel like training at all! There are however a few positions that require some extra training, but it doesn’t take too long!
Sunnyside volunteers do not require any previous experience, but they should be flexible people who enjoy listening and talking. Because of some illnesses, not all residents can communicate clearly, so being able to co-operate with the residents and make them feel comfortable is an important trait that volunteers should possess.
Volunteering at Sunnyside is not for everyone. Some of the residents have Dementia, Alzheimer’s, or other disabilities that makes communicating more difficult for them, so their actions or inactions could make some people uncomfortable. There are many people though, who would love volunteering at Sunnyside. There are still people who you could talk to quite normally and for those who are interested in a medical field, Sunnyside is a great introduction into learning more about the healthcare system. Some volunteers start out feeling at little uneasy at Sunnyside, but as they spend more time and learn more at Sunnyside, they start to become very comfortable with situations that they were apprehensive of before.
My visit to the KW Humane Society was really incredible! Pierre, the Community Relations Co-ordinator, took me for a tour, answered some questions and taught me a lot about the KW Humane Society. The Humane Society is really a great place to volunteer – their program is very well organized and the animals are absolutely adorable. The volunteer program gives students many opportunities to support the cause and to help animals who have usually suffered a form of abuse in their lives.
There are many things to love about volunteering at the Humane Society. First of all, most students love getting to play with the animals. Many students enjoy watching the animals grow and learn. Though seeing the animals leave with their new adopted families may be a little sad, it is nice for the students to know that they have helped to make that animal the great friend that they turned out to be for their new owner. The Humane Society has a very friendly environment in which students are appreciated volunteers.
Student Volunteer Opportunities at the KW Humane Society
- Administration positions (Includes mailing letters, fundraising events, speaking about the Humane Society, etc.)
- Canine Companion (Includes playing with and taking care of the dogs)
- Play Therapy (Includes playing with and taking care of the cats)
- Helping with Special Events
* When you volunteer at the Humane Society, you will be put into a position where you are comfortable and where you possess the skills to perform your job well!
To become a volunteer at the Humane Society, you must first visit their website or call Jen, the volunteer co-ordinator, to find out what positions are available at the current time (please find links and contact information at the end of this post). Then, there is an application on the website that you must fill out and then submit to Jen. Once your application has been accepted, you will be contacted for an interview. After making it past the interview, you will go through an orientation and training sessions to become a full volunteer. Please note that this application process is fairly new. It’s a simpler way of applying!
Groups of friends may apply together, but they may not all make the cut. If a group of friends do all make it, there may be a few opportunities where they may work together, but for the most part, the volunteer positions are for individuals. Too many animals or people together at once may confuse the animals!
Requirements for volunteering at the Humane Society
- Police Check (required if volunteering by yourself; if volunteering with a parent, they will need to do one but you will not have to)
- Orientation
- Training with the animals
- Safety training
- A total of 3 or 4 hours of training
- A 6 month commitment (you will get your required 40 hours for school!) *Some exceptions based on your skills and how you can help, but expect the required 6 month commitment*
- About1 to 3 hours of volunteering weekly
- Wear long sleeves and pants when volunteering with the animals – inside or outside!
- Willingness to help out the animals
- Positive attitude
For more specific details on volunteering at the Humane Society and the application form please visit the KW Humane Society's Volunteer page by clicking here.
Welcome to the KW SVO blog! I am very excited to share this project with you and I thank you for taking the time to check it out. My name is Christine and I am the creator of KW SVO (Kitchener-Waterloo Student Volunteer Opportunities). The purpose of KW SVO is to help educate high school students living in the KW region about volunteering.
I visit different organisations in the region who take student volunteers and I bring a camera. We take pictures, film a tour and film interviews. Then I take all of the footage and make them into videos that I post to Youtube. I do this because it gives students a good visual on a location so that they can assess the atmosphere and determine whether or not it is right for them, and I try to get answers to all of the questions that you would like the answers to. I try to make volunteering easy. I know that sometimes people don’t follow through with something, because they can’t find enough information on it. I’m trying to help fix that problem with volunteering – hopefully SVO will be able to give you enough information to decide whether or not you would like to volunteer at a certain organisation.
There are three main parts to SVO. The first is my Youtube channel (www.youtube.com/KitchenerWaterlooSVO). All of my videos are located there and you can watch and scan through them to find the information that you are looking for. The next part is this blog (www.kwsvo.blogspot.com). Here I write up blog posts about all of the featured volunteer opportunities, I list their contact information and I put the videos up as well. If you are looking for all of the information in one place, this blog is the best place for that, because it connects everything. The last part is my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/KWSVO). I will post volunteer updates on this page and try to connect you to neat events that are going on in the community.
If you decide to try and use KW SVO to find a volunteer opportunity, then there’s a certain path I would recommend taking. First I would watch the “Intro” video of a place that sounds like it might fit you well. If you don’t feel that the organisation is for you after watching the video, then maybe try a different one. If you’re still interested, then check out the “Q&A” video for the organisation. I ask pretty much the same questions at each interview. Some of the videos can get a little long, so if you are really just looking for the answer to one question, then feel free to scan through the video and find the question you want answered (I put all of the questions in subtitles at the bottom of the video as they are asked, to help make this a little easier). If you then decide that you would like to volunteer at the organisation or if you are looking for more information, I would recommend coming to this blog (if you’re not already here), and it should be able to help you out. Information that wasn’t in the videos is probably in a blog post, and if not, then the contact information that you need to get them answered is here as well. I also post the information that you need to apply to become a volunteer on this blog.
I will update KW SVO as frequently as possible. So, if you are looking for a volunteer position and SVO is not giving you anything good, check back again in a little while, because maybe the next opportunity I post will be perfect for you!
There are many reasons for students to volunteer and one of the biggest ones is the fact that you need 40 community service hours in order to graduate from high school! Other benefits of volunteering include getting experience, learning about potential jobs, making your resume look better, and of course you’ll probably feel good if you can help somebody else out. These are some of the main benefits, in my mind, of volunteering, but there are many more!
The last thing that I wanted to say is that I would love your feedback! I’m just starting this and I’m not always sure what I’m doing! If I am asking the wrong questions, or filming the wrong things, or posting unusable information, whatever it may be, I would like to hear about it! I really want this to actually be useful, so your feedback would be great. So feel free to comment on Youtube, or here – anywhere you can! Also, if you know of a place where I should film or if you would like to tell me about your experience volunteering, I would love to hear about it!
Thank you all for reading this blog and checking SVO out. Volunteering can be a really great and fun way to spend your time and I hope that KW SVO can help you to find the organisation where volunteering is all that it could be for you!
Here's the WWWWWHO? (Who What When Where Why How Other)/Introduction video for KW SVO:
