Values and Volunteering: Key Insights from Our Network

April 9, 2017

From someone who works to organize an event within their community, someone who sits on a board of an organization they’re passionate about, to those who bring lost cats to the animal shelter, volunteering comes in many different forms. Canada alone has over 12.7 million volunteers devoting their time to causes that directly impact the lives of those around them and their community. For CivicAction and the CivicAction Leadership Foundation, we depend on leaders throughout the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) to help drive our work. While these incredible people have done a lot to help us drive impact, it’s also important to highlight how they’re taking time out of their schedules to better different communities, and contribute to causes across our region.

For National Volunteer Week, we asked some key individuals from our network five questions about volunteering, you can see what they had to say below. We’ll also be taking to Twitter to profile how they’re making impactful contributions in their communities. Join us in profiling those who volunteer to create an impact by tweeting at us via @CivicActionGTHA.

See what they had to say below.

How did you start volunteering for your specific cause? How did you feel starting this new kind of activity?

I’ve always been passionate about families so I sought out opportunities that focus on childcare and seniors care once I had professional skills to offer non-profit boards. I’ve gained tremendous personal satisfaction from helping my community and would recommend volunteering to everyone.

– David Mousavi, 2017 DiverseCity Fellow; General Counsel, Toronto Real Estate Board; and Professor, Centennial College

I started volunteering when I was 15. By giving my time I implicitly understood the fountain of opportunities in my future, which so many others did not. The early experience of volunteering energized me. I felt inspired to achieve more in my own life in order to continue to give back.

– Salima Rawji, Vice President of Development, Build Toronto; 2011-2013 ELN Co-Chair; 2010 DiverseCity Fellow; Board Member, CivicAction and CivicAction Leadership Foundation

I started volunteering with the LGBTQ community in my last year of university when I led Out at Ivey, a student initiative for LGBTQ and ally leaders at Western University’s Ivey Business School. When I moved back to Toronto after university, I hoped to continue my activism, so I joined the Board of Directors at LGBT Youth Line, a youth to youth peer support service for lesbian, gay, bi and trans spectrum youth across Ontario that works within an anti-oppression and anti-racist framework. Starting this new activity, I felt somewhere between nervous and excited – nervous because at first I wasn’t sure how and what I could contribute, but excited to be part of a space where I could find and build community.

– Adri Noronha, Project Intern at CivicAction, and Board of Directors at LGBT Youth Line

What specifically motivates you to volunteer? i.e. be part of something bigger, being part of a diverse team, seeing change in the community, etc.

Two main things motivate my volunteer activities – being part of something innovative and being part of something that allows me to see the direct impact I can make, even as one individual. When I started volunteering with PakathonTO and The Canadian-Muslim Vote, I saw them as organizations tackling big problems in innovative ways. The opportunity to volunteer tutor newcomer students allows me to really develop a social connection with the people I am volunteering with and to see the positive change I can make in individual lives.

– Myra Khan, Research Policy Analyst, Ontario Public Service

Our society cannot survive, never mind thrive, without volunteers. I’m convinced that the more generous we are with our time, skills, and energy the greater harmony and prosperity we will all experience. And, for me, volunteering has seldom felt like a sacrifice. I have gained at least as much as I have given. I have experienced my community, collaborated with others, and grown in ways that otherwise may not have been possible.

– Nick Chambers, Partner and Senior Consultant, Benchmark Performance Inc.

I’m interested in a lot of different things: media, food x drink, arts & culture. And volunteering across different sectors is fun and interesting and allows me to build a creative life that I’m proud of. I love working with and supporting organizations that are doing exciting work throughout the City of Toronto. They inspire me. And feeling inspired is always a good thing, you know?

– Jason Maghanoy, Director of Sales Strategy & Partnerships, NOW

What has been your greatest lessoned learned / biggest accomplishment through volunteering?

I am learning to acknowledge that volunteering is often a privilege and can often be inaccessible to folks that may face barriers and lack resources (time, money, energy, access); it is therefore important for organizations that offer volunteer and unpaid leadership opportunities to reduce barriers facing marginalized folks that want to volunteer but can’t (ex. ensuring to provide volunteers with food, offering honorariums, compensating transport, and even paying folks for their work). My biggest volunteering accomplishment has been co-writing a theater performance with an incredible group of non-binary and women youth that will premier in workshop form in April 2017 at Canadian Stage’s rehearsal stage as part of the Artists Mentoring Youth (AMY) Project.

– Adri Noronha, Project Intern at CivicAction, and Board of Directors at LGBT Youth Line

I joined my first volunteer Board reluctantly. I was young and doubted that I had much of value to offer. My attitude changed once I discovered the power of volunteering for tasks that everyone regarded as important but no one else wanted to take on. I gave those tasks my all and saw them through to completion. This is how I made my mark.

– Nick Chambers, Partner and Senior Consultant, Benchmark Performance Inc.

I’ve learned that nothing can be done without building a coalition of like-minded partners in the community. Positive change often starts with one individual taking up a cause and bringing their neighbours along.

– David Mousavi, 2017 DiverseCity Fellow; General Counsel, Toronto Real Estate Board; and Professor, Centennial College

What would you say to others who may doubt that volunteering matters or who may want to start volunteering?

When I began on my volunteer journey, I never imagined the perspectives or energy I would gain. Most people speak of giving time as a drain, my experience has been the opposite. The inspiration, insight and energy has been an incredible positive force in my life.