October 26, 2022

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…

April 27, 2021

Cheers to Our Volunteers: A Children’s Perspective

By: JiJi Talmus

As a director for an after-school program who works directly with volunteers and children. Whenever we have a new volunteer starting, I never successfully found a children's story that would help me introduce the children to our volunteer. So, during the pandemic, I wrote and published one of the first books for young children called "Cheers to our Volunteer"

May 26, 2021

Three tips to help you develop meaningful volunteer roles

By: Rob Jackson

Finding truly meaningful things for people to do is one of the most important aspects of working with volunteers, yet is is something that we can spend too little time paying attention to. This is a problem. This article will give you some great tips on developing meaningful volunteer roles

August 16, 2022

The Benefits of Volunteering for Teens and High School Students!

By: Chelsea C Anthony

As a high school student, one of the requirements for graduation is the completion of a certain number of volunteer hours. While this number differs per province (for instance, Ontario mandates 40 hours while and BC mandates 30), the requirement offers the chance for all students to engage in Formal and Informal Volunteering. While both types of volunteering are important, when mapping out how to tackle your 30 (or 40) hours, consider dedicating the bulk of your hours to a formal volunteering position! Here's Why.....

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