Where & Who to Volunteer With?

By: Volunteer Success

If you are a high school student, both formal and informal volunteering may count towards community service hours for high school graduation - check with your school or guidance counsellor

  • Formal volunteering takes place with a charity, non-profit or community organization (including at your own school!)
  • Informal volunteering can be done in your own neighbourhood: for example, assisting seniors with shovelling walkways and driveways, garden care, or carrying groceries; unpaid babysitting or dog-walking; collecting food for a food bank; organizing a park clean-up in your community. Remember that this work must be unpaid!
  • What doesn’t count towards community service hours:
    • working for free in a business
    • doing a school co-op
    • any paid job
  • While these are still great activities to discover your skills and interests, they don’t count as volunteer work and won’t count towards your high school diploma
  • Location, location, location! If the volunteer opportunity isn’t virtual, check the address of the opportunity in advance to make sure that it is accessible to you (walkable or by transit) before you apply!

Next, go to When to Volunteer?

Also check out:

How to Find the Right Volunteer Opportunity

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…

Transformative Versus Transactional Volunteering

By: Realized Worth

For over 10 years, Realized Worth has partnered with some of the best-known brands in the world to design and implement corporate volunteer programs. Through a comprehensive design, transition and implementation process, we analyze existing programs and volunteer networks, provide clear recommendations on how to grow programs, and support the implementation of programs that keep employees engaged in transformative volunteerism year-round.

The Road to Volunteer Burnout: How to Avoid It and How to Manage It

By: Lori Gotlieb

As the saying goes, “if you want something done, ask a busy person”. This holds very true for volunteers and the dedicated work that they do. People are busier now then they have ever been and balancing your life has become more and more complicated. People volunteer for a variety of reasons; they want to make a difference and give back to their community but they also want balance in their volunteer efforts. If they do not get the balance they will get burnt out. This is called “volunteer burnout” and it is more common than you think.

Youth Thrive Program: Volunteer, Gain Experience, and Build Your Career

By: The Career Foundation – Youth Thrive National Program

The Youth Thrive Program is a unique initiative under the Canada Service Corps (CSC), designed to provide meaningful volunteer service opportunities for youth, while also equipping them with the skills, experience, and network to succeed in the professional world.