Be matched with Newcomers to Canada and organize events or Guided tours (online or in-person)

CultureLink's NEAT Mentorship Program is recruiting volunteer mentors to work with Newcomer Event Planners

This program is ONLY available in Toronto.

Volunteer mentors are matched with 3-5 newcomers and together as a team, they organize guided tours, or outdoor events/activities. (Due to covid, activities can be organized virtually. For in-person activities, covid protocols will be followed.)

The time commitment is 4-6 months, approx. 35 hours which includes 2 orientation sessions and one or two speed-matching sessions.

NEAT Mentors lead the group of newcomer mentees, and guide and support them in exploring the city and together, plan and organize events or activities that are open to the public. A certificate of completion will be awarded to everyone finishing the program commitment. Mentors can be re-matched with a new group of newcomer mentees after finishing their commitment with the first group.

NEAT program helps newcomers to gain hands on Canadian work experience through event planning and learning about FREE places in Toronto; as well as opportunity to have fun, socialize, and establish long-term connections.

Mentors are responsible to organize weekly/biweekly group meetings with their newcomers mentees and report to the program worker at least once a month.

Criteria:

Must haves:

• 19 years or older, fluent in English and have life experience of more than 5 years in Canada
• Attend mentors’ orientation (date will be provided); NEAT orientation session (date will be provided). (all orientation/ match meetings are being done virtually via zoom).
• Provide two professional references and police clearance letter (a copy of a valid police clearance is acceptable).
• Flexible to travel within Toronto to explore different neighbourhoods and hidden gems!
• Have knowledge of Toronto’s local culture/neighbourhoods and free events and activities
• Leadership skills and helping others take the lead and gain experience

Assets:

• Experience in Event planning or leading Guided Tours, Outdoor Activities including winter fun!
• Experience in team-work and working with newcomers or diverse communities.
• Small group facilitation experience and ability to engage participants of varying skills and language levels.
• Skillful in helping newcomers practice English and learn skills in project management/ event planning, social media marketing and online meeting platforms.
• Familiarity of or experience using online meeting platforms, such as zoom, google meet, etc. for the purpose of regular meetings and organizing events; and flexibility to adapt to changing needs, i.e. switching from virtual meetings to in-person and vice versa, when possible and under covid guidelines.
• Familiarity with meetup platform for the purpose of promoting events and connecting with potential attendees

In the NEAT orientation, you will get a chance to learn more about the program, your role as a mentor; and during  the speed-matching, you will be able to meet with newcomer mentees and other mentors.

Due to covid-19, currently all sessions and meetings will be held virtually via zoom. We will be using zoom breakout rooms for speed-matching purpose.

Any in-person work will be under covid-19 guidelines and with advance notice.

If you are interested, please contact Rubeen at 437-249-7103 or via email at rchauhan@culturelink.ca.

Note:

If you decide to volunteer with us, you will be required to fill out an online profile at: myimpactpage.

Staff at CultureLink can provide basic training on how to use zoom and google meet and their tools; and detailed training (with handouts) on using the meetup group tools for promoting events.