It's here!!! We are challenged once again to bring our community together and make a difference through volunteering. Between April 18th and May 9th join Volunteer South Simcoe is participating in a variety of fun and meaningful volunteer events throughout South Simcoe. Remember Survivor?? Join us again to make a difference. Please contact Isabelle at 705-435-4900 or isabelle@contactsouthsimcoe.ca for further information. To check out more about the Challenge, visit http://www.citizenship.gov.on.ca/english/volunteerism/nvw/changetheworld/ or join our Facebook group NGaged.
Stay tuned for more details!

Volunteer Canada is proud to announce that BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2010, when you sign up to volunteer for a day with a participating organization (and your volunteer commitment is completed and verified) you'll receive a one day admission pass to a Walt Disney World® or Disneyland® theme park, FREE! Disney Parks, working with Volunteer Canada and HandsOn Network, hopes to inspire families to volunteer in their communities during 2010 through this first-of-its-kind program. For organizations interested in this fantastic opportunity, please click the following link for further information. http://volunteer.ca/en/give-day-get-disney-day-information-organizations-volunteer-centres

Calling all youth!! If you are between the ages of 14 and 29 and have interests in the arts, local and/or organic food, fashion, marketing, IT or starting your own business, don't miss the opportunity to be involved in this brand NEW project.

Join us at CONTACT (39 Victoria Street East, Town Square) on Tuesday, December 15th at 3:00pm to find out more about this exciting venture. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

See you there!

The Barrie Association for Volunteer Administrators has launched a new website! Check it out to find out about a wide variety of volunteer opportunities in Barrie, or to discover the benefits of membership with your local AVA. Congrats BAVA!
http://www.pavro.on.ca/bava/

Looking to volunteer? Want to know what's available in your area? Don't miss the Volunteer Fair at CONTACT's Community Service Centre, 39 Victoria Street East, Alliston on Wednesday, November 4th from 2:30pm to 7:00pm. The fair is for both students and adults, and will be a great way to access a number of volunteering positions in one spot!
If you are looking for volunteers and would like to participate in the fair, please contact Isabelle at (705)435-4900.

Banting Memorial HIgh School is hosting it's 2nd Annual Volunteer Fair on November 18th, 2009 from 8am to 9:15am. Don't miss this great opportunity to showcase your organization or check out what volunteer opportunities are available in your community. Contact 435-6288 ext. 650 for further information.

ChangeTheWorld Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge is a way for Ontario teens to make a difference in their lives and communities through volunteering.

Help us meet the goal of 10,000 Ontario youth volunteering for five hours during National Volunteer Week, April 19-25, 2009.

In South Simcoe we are Challenged to involve 156 youth volunteers in 5 hours of activities between April 18th and 26th.

Do you like the Arts? Would you enjoy the opportunity to showcase your talents at The Gibson Centre for a great cause? Maybe you would rather get outside and help to keep our community and the environment clean?

Whatever your passion, get involved in the Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge and ChangeTheWorld today!

Contact isabelle@volunteersouthsimcoe.ca or 705-435-4900 to get involved.

Matthews House Hospice will be hosting their annual Hike for Hospice on Sunday, May 3, 2009; from 1 to 4 p.m. Registration will take place on the lawn of St. John’s United Church in Alliston. Please gather your pledges, lace up your hiking shoes and join your family and friends for a 2 km. or 5 km. walk. For more information call Lois or Faye at 435-7218. Pledge forms are available directly from Matthews House or on our website: www.matthewshousehospice.ca.

VSS is hosting its Second Annual Conference on Thursday, March 5th 2009. This year, our conference features Donna Lockhart, a partner with RETHINK Inc., the Ontario arm of Canada's RETHINK GROUP.

As a nationally-known workshop leader, trainer, and speaker in the growing field of community volunteerism, Donna brings a passion for excellence and unequalled depth of experience to her consulting practice. Her mission is to "build best practices in volunteer management."
Donna is also currently on a part-time contract with PAVR-O as Executive Director.
For more information about The RETHINK Group contact Donna at: www.rethinkgroup.ca

“Donna’s knowledge and experience with volunteerism is extensive and empowering. She understands both the importance of volunteers…and the struggles we have with volunteers.” Lana Gorst, Corporate Manager of Program Operations. Leisureworld Caregiving Centers.

The conference will focus on the changing volunteer labour force as well as best practices for engaging young volunteers. Lunch is provided.

When: Thursday March 5th, 2009 12:00pm to 4:00pm
Where: Community Service Centre South Simcoe, 39 Victoria Street East
Cost: $45.00
RSVP: (705)435-4900 or isabelle@contactsouthsimcoe.ca

Spaces are limited.

RESIDENTS WANT TO VOLUNTEER RATHER THAN DONATE DURING A RECESSION
A poll conducted in the UK found that, with a recession anticipated, one third of UK consumers are more likely to give their time rather than money to charities.
G2 Data Dynamics/www.charityvillage.com

In light of this emerging trend, Volunteer South Simcoe will focus on specific techniques for recruiting and retaining volunteers during a recession at our next Lunch n’ Learn session.

Bring your lunch, bring your ideas, and leave with valuable information!

When: Friday, February 13th 2009 12pm to 1pm
Where: Community Service Centre South Simcoe, 39 Victoria Street East

See you then!

Don't miss our January Lunch n' Learn session where we will discuss virtual volunteering - the importance, the benefits, and some ideas that may just work for you!

When: Friday, January 9th 2009 12pm to 1pm
Where: Community Service Centre South Simcoe, 39 Victoria Street East
Please RSVP to isabelle@contactsouthsimcoe.ca or 705-435-4900

Bring your lunch!

Looking for a fun and rewarding way to acquire your community service hours? Look no further. Volunteer South Simcoe will be participating in South Simcoe's first ever Youth Volunteer Challenge in April 2009. We are currently seeking a youth Planning Committee to help plan, organize and run this exciting and historical event.
If this sounds interesting, join us on Wednesday, November 19th @ 3pm at the CONTACT Community Kitchen (16 Paris Street) to find out more.
Don't miss out on the opportunity to gain great skills, make a difference in our community, have a blast AND get your community servcie hours - life couldn't get any better!

When: Wednesday November 19th - 3:00pm
Where: CONTACT Community Kitchen, 16 Paris Street, Alliston

The Lunch n' Learn sessions are back!! Join Volunteer South Simcoe for the re-launch of the fantastic Lunch n' Learn sessions where eating, networking, learning and having fun come together for one lunch hour per month. Lunch n' Learn's are informal gatherings for community organizations who wish to learn skills relevant to daily operation as well as gain further understanding and insight into what other community organizations are up to. Bring your lunch, and leave with valuable information.

January will focus on Virtual Volunteering - with the bad weather months fast approaching, how can we engage volunteers without worrying about a snowy commute?
Get concrete ideas of how to convert some of your opportunities into "virtual volunteering".

Where: Location to be determined
When: Friday, January 9th (and every second Friday of the month thereafter) at 12:00pm
** Please note the date change
RSVP: to 705-435-4900 or isabelle@contactsouthsimcoe.ca

We look forward to seeing you there!

The Canadian Cancer Society has launched a new website to assist young people in finding volunteer opportunities to acquire their community service hours. There are many opportunities available, which can be matched by your personal feelings towards community service hours. Take the fun quiz at www.my40hours.ca and then find out what you can do!

Banting Memorial High School is hosting its 1st ANNUAL VOLUNTEER FAIR on Friday November 14th, 2008. Grade 9 and 10 students will be invited to gain exposure to the volunteer opportunities in the community.

If you would like the opportunity to expose your business/organization please contact either Romina Iafrate or Karen Cross at Banting Memorial High School to express your interest, to ask any questions, and most importantly to book your spot! RSVP would be appreciated no later than October 30th, 2008.

Banting Memorial High School 1st Annual Volunteer Fair
Friday November 14th, 2008
8:00am to 10:40am

Romina Iafrate - (705) 435-6288 ext. 650
Karen Cross - (705) 435-6288 ext. 614

The Canadian Council on Learing provided us with some useful information from their study on the smartest cities in Canada.

Included in the study were statistics about the most caring cities in our country. According to a recent Macleans article, "Volunteer rates were important in determining the overall learning scores for major cities because, according to the Canadian Council on Learning, volunteering 'helps fortify community services,' as well as providing 'learning opportunities for volunteers themselves'".

Accordingly, Guelph, Kingston, Sudbury and Thunder Bay were ranked in the top 10 most caring cities. Barrie is not far behind, with an impressive 50.4% of the population volunteering. New Tecumseth falls slightly behind in their total learning index score, although it seems that overall we are in the higher ranked areas of the country. Perhaps even more caring (volunteering) will make us even smarter! For further information, check out www.macleans.ca/smartcities

Now that summer is winding down and school has begun, it is time to think about getting those valuable community service hours. VSS encourages all students to think about community service hours differently - it shouldn't feel like a chore.

Community service hours are there for a reason. The purpose is to give students the opportunity to try new things, figure out where their interests are, meet new people, gain skills that are transferable in the workplace, and of course learn the value of contributing to our community.

Volunteer South Simcoe's goal is to assist young people in finding community service opportunities that speak to their own personal values and goals. Search through our database of volunteer opportunities for listings that will be enjoyable and educational - it will make a world of difference in gaining community service hours - and you never know; you might just get hooked on volunteering!

This summer YAP South Simcoe held a series of fun and rewarding volunteer opportunities for youth. It was a great way to get involved and contribute to local organizations and events.

The success of our summer volunteering events was due to the involvement of our wonderful volunteers as well as New Tecumseth Parks and Recreation, the Tottenham & District Chamber of Commerce, The Nottawasaga Foundation, the Literacy Council of South Simcoe and Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Simcoe.

Thank you to everyone involved and we look forward to another summer of fun next year!

April 27th to May 3rd was National Volunteer Week. This year we repeated the highly successful poster campaign which listed 35 local organizations and the number of volunteers who contribute to the operation of their programs – an astounding 5357 volunteers.

To celebrate the hard work and dedication of these and other volunteers in South Simcoe we hosted a volunteer appreciation event with The Gibson Centre on April 29th. The afternoon started with a reception in the foyer of The Gibson Cultural Centre, with a delicious spread of food and beverages, accompanied by music provided by Johnny Mac. Following the reception our 90 guests entered the performance hall for speeches, thank you’s and more entertainment, including a slide show and music from Kathy Smith, Murell Zimmerman, and Joy Foster. Each volunteer was then presented with a Bear Creek seedling, kindly donated by Somerville Nurseries. It was a wonderful afternoon and a clear demonstration of the amazing contributions that our volunteers make very day. We hope to see you there next year!

Ottawa - The Special Senate Committee on Aging met Monday, April 28th to examine and report upon the implications of an aging society in Canada. Ruth MacKenzie, President of Volunteer Canada, appeared as a witness before Committee to discuss volunteerism and its impact on healthy aging.

Visit http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/2/parlbus/commbus/senate/Com-e/agei-e/45341-e.htm?Language=E&Parl=39&Ses=2&comm_id=600 for the whole story.