When to Volunteer?

By: Volunteer Success

Timing is everything when it comes to volunteering. Check out this time-saving article to help you figure out what is the best time for you to volunteer, when to start looking, and how much time you can give!

  • For high school students: finding the right volunteer role can take time so don’t wait until your final year of high school to start looking.
  • Thinking of getting a paid job in grade 11 or 12? Try to get your hours completed in grades 9 and 10 so you aren't juggling volunteer and paid job commitments. In fact, getting volunteer experience early can only help you get a job later in high school!
  • Age matters: in some cases, organizations may only accept teens if they are over the age of 16 or even 18. Some may require parental permission if you are under a specific age.
  • Think about your schedule and when you are available to volunteer. Are you available in the evenings and on weekends only or do you have any half-days on a regular basis for volunteer work?
  • Many nonprofits and charities only offer volunteer opportunities during regular business hours (Mon - Fri, 9 to 5) so you may wish to look for those opportunities that are available evenings and weekends.
  • Volunteer opportunities can be one-day, short-term (3 months or less) or long-term (3 months+). Again, consider what kind of commitment you can make so that you can find the right opportunity.
  • Depending on the work involved, virtual opportunities may offer more flexibility in terms of time and scheduling.
  • Need lots of hours? April to October is the “outdoor event/festival/charity race season”. These one-off events generally take place over the weekends and require lots of volunteers. If you need hours and enjoy working in a fun, busy environment, look for event opportunities.

Ready to start your volunteer search? Go to How to Find the Right Volunteer Opportunity

Also check out:

How to Apply for Volunteer Roles

How-to Tips for Interviewing and Email Communications

How-to Tips for Applying for Unadvertised Volunteer Opportunities

How-to Tips for Working in the Volunteer Role

How to Troubleshoot Problems in Your Volunteer Role

How to Get a Reference and/or Paid Role!


Also read…

Re-Imaging the Volunteer World

By: Syrelle Bernstein

As the world experiences very trying times, the voluntary sector needs to rethink how it can continue to engage our communities in a sustainable volunteer program, to continue to compliment the services of your organizations.

THE DEMOCRACY OF GIVING: HOW MUCH INFLUENCE IS TOO MUCH INFLUENCE WHEN IT COMES TO PHILANTHROPY

By: Tanya Hannah Rumble, CFRE, Mariya Yurukova

Those with significant wealth and capacity to make major gifts are often afforded the greatest influence in shaping the impact their gifts will create and in turn shaping broader society through their philanthropy; where those whose gifts may be in the hundreds of dollars or less are not often afforded the opportunity to influence the impact of their gift. It feels like each dollar is a vote - and the more dollars the more votes, and thus the more influence you have as a donor - this is very similar to the democratic system in the US, here in Canada and frankly around the world. Those with money buy influence, however in large part the donors with the greatest influence and capacity don't share the diversity of the broader Canadian public. Are we missing the important nuances in philanthropy? And how do we ensure the interests of the very few don't terminate the interests of the many who have comparatively smaller means?

Need to refresh your Volunteer Policies? Check out this free primer from Volunteer Toronto!

By: Aleksandra Vasic

Volunteer Success is pleased to share this wonderful volunteer policy primer created by Volunteer Toronto. As this primer makes clear, and the Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement (CCVI) advocates, organizations should have an integrated human resource management approach that includes paid employees, students and volunteers. The Human Resources standard of the CCVI recommends that “most policies and practices apply equally to all people in the organization”, apart from some obvious exceptions such as compensation and recognition. COVID has motivated many of us to re-evaluate our policies, but as this resource states: “the world of volunteer engagement constantly evolves, and your structures should adapt as things change.” So what volunteer-specific policies should you have? And what kinds of revisions should you undertake?