Working as a volunteer in Canada for newcomers has many advantages. Although you don’t receive any monetary support while working as a volunteer, you are helping yourself while you’re helping others. You can improve work efficiency, improve your skills, you will meet new people in this foreign land. Working as a volunteer is a nice way to know and understand your surroundings and community.
You can grab new opportunities to improve your working skills. You can do volunteer in the community and organizations near your place according to your passion or interest. You can impact several lives as well as enhance your own life by working as a volunteer in Canada.
Many non-profit organizations in Canada (50 percent) depend upon volunteers and unpaid staff. These organizations offer work opportunities to newcomers in Canada because volunteering has a great advantage for newcomers in Canada.
1) Develop your Interests and Hobbies.
Volunteering is one brilliant and fantastic way to find new hobbies and interests. You can also get to travel and visit different parts of the city. Being involved with something new which you never got a taste of or you never experienced or something that can challenge your skills may open you to new adventures. It can also give you a totally different and exuberant experience of the ordinary and help you refresh your experience of life.
Opportunities according to your interest in different work areas like sports and health, social services, arts and culture, working as a social worker and many more options are there to work in as a volunteer. It can help you to develop compassion and gather positive life experiences in a foreign land. It is a great opportunity to discover and develop your interests and hobbies.
2) Improve your Language Skills.
Serving as a volunteer can help you to improve your language skills like English and French. If you already have a plan to develop certain skills, then choose your volunteering activity accordingly. For example, if you want to improve your English speaking skills, try to volunteer for a community centre where you can communicate with people often and if you want you to improve your reading skills then work for a newspaper reading centre.
3) Refresh your Life and have Fun.
Volunteering means that you would donate your effort, energy and time to all those people who are in need of help. Helping other people to make their life comfortable and happy will make you feel a great sense of satisfaction and happiness, although you are not getting any monetary profit in this but it can actually make you happy. Moreover, by volunteering you can overcome boredom and depression. The more you indulge in social activities, the less you feel home-sickness.
4) Enhance your Career Horizons.
When you are participating in some activities as a volunteer, it will always give you a great chance to enhance a field of interest and you can connect with other people working there. You may develop your working skills and experiences that will always improve your resume. Sometimes, the company you volunteered with can provide you with a good reference for a job. It is shown in some research that companies prefer to hire a person with volunteer experience.
5) Connect with Others.
Volunteering can give you great opportunities to connect with other people. Many of the volunteer work requirements are to get involved in work with others for a community center. It can be a great chance to meet new people, you can boost your social skills, and can develop your networking circle, moreover, it is beneficial for you if you are a newcomer in Canada.
6) Gain Professional Experience.
If you are working as a volunteer and you are not getting any payment for that it does not mean that the job is not fruitful for you and doing it is meaningless and unprofessional. Some of the job opportunities always require training. Working as a volunteer is a wonderful opportunity to learn if you want to practice it enough. By this, you get professional experience for your future. Volunteering can improve your working skills that you can use in your professional job in the coming times.
7) Keep you Fit and Healthy
Some interesting research shows that people who often work as a volunteer stay fit and live longer in comparison to those who do not work as volunteers. It is proven in some research that people reduced their stress levels by doing work as a volunteer. Volunteering positively affects our mental health as well as physical health.
8) Develop time management skills
While doing work as a volunteer, you have to learn to balance your school, work and home and volunteering at the same time. It can definitely be very challenging for you but if you try to see it otherwise, it can turn out as a great opportunity for you to develop your time management skills.
Different fields for volunteering
There are different fields of work in which you can work as a volunteer.
- If you have leadership qualities then you can join any strategic planning centre to help other people.
- You can join a fundraising organization to raise the funds for needy people.
- You can start a Tenants Rights Association to help the new tenants over there.
- Organize a schedule for volunteers of an event on human resources.
- You can do data entry at a resource centre as a volunteer.
- You can join an office to provide general help to the visitors.
- If you are good in technology and social media handling. You can design a website for an elderly-care cooperation.
- You can be a blogger and start writing blogs on tourist places in Canada.
- If you are an expert in computers and teaching computer skills then you share this knowledge by joining a community centre as a volunteer.
- You can provide your service as a carpenter by building a bookshelf for a reading room.
- You can be a part of an NGO that is working for nature and environment-saving programs.
- You can join a local animal shelter as a volunteer and can help the animals there.
- You can be a member of any community garden and help them in growing vegetables for a community center.
- You can provide tuition to students.
- You can be a motivational speaker and be a mentor to a teenage group.
- You can join any helpline centre and answer the questions of callers.
- You can prepare lunch in a community kitchen.
- Provide your service as a volunteer and give coaching to a local team.
- You can help people by facilitating their medical appointments
- You can play the piano and sing songs for retirement residents to entertain them.
- You can raise funds for an NGO by doing stand-up comedy.
- You can participate in community events as an anchor.
How to get started as a volunteer.
Research: First of all you have to search for companies, NGOs and organizations that are looking for workers as volunteers in that field in which you are having interest and want to improve your working skill. In another way, you have to be aware of any request for a volunteer in your community.
Connect: You can contact the organizations using email communication, also you can research about them, finding their contact information on their website or through their LinkedIn pages. Always evaluate the areas and work which is within your reach and suit for the skills you are posing.
Some organizations provide platforms to facilitate connections between volunteers and job opportunities across Canada. These platforms provide a great opportunity to start your search for volunteering.
If you want to work as a volunteer in Canada, you can apply through the International Experience Canada. Generally, it’s processing time average is around 4 weeks. It also depends upon your location, especially where you are applying from. Therefore, better to plan in advance and apply a minimum of a year in advance to your intended start date.
Volunteering in Canada is very beneficial for immigrants. It helps to improve working skills, help to stay fit and healthy. It helps to improve one’s connection with other people. Many people experience that volunteering has changed their lives in ways beyond expectations. It also helped them to land a job.