Community Involvement Ideas
Celebrate Volunteerism
Promote Volunteerism
Improving Accessibility
Corporate Employee Volunteerism
and IYV
Communication Planning Sheet
Youth Week Plan

Community Involvement Ideas

No matter what type of organization, association or level of government, there are many ways to recognize, celebrate and promote volunteers and volunteerism during IYV. An organization can start by incorporating a volunteer theme, adding a category, focus it's PR on volunteerism or spotlighting volunteer contributions. Building on existing events with support from Volunteer B.C. and handy tools from the website is a good starting point.

If you have a great idea for an IYV activity send it to us for our events calendar or share your experience so others can learn and adopt ideas.

Celebrate Volunteerism

Involvement ideas for Youth:

• Hold, develop or implement projects involving youth for youth.
  
• Work with schools or youth in general to get students thinking about volunteering. Develop a student curriculum focussing on citizenship, voluntary action, and civil society. Ask students to talk about instances in which they have acted as volunteers or helpers.
  
• Develop a strategy to recruit youth volunteers by youth
  
• Develop a media strategy spotlighting youth in the community who have made a difference. Promote youth who have volunteered as well as youth who have benefited from the volunteer experience
  
• Initiate a youth volunteer project as part of Global youth service day April 21st 2001. A community project in partnership with a local community organization i.e. food bank, parks and recreation, libraries, shelters, meals on wheels etc.
  
• Host a forum or conference for youth on volunteering
  
• Develop a database or weblinks to organization that have volunteer opportunities for youth.
  
• A variety of ages? (See Volunteer Canada's youth volunteer programs, such as Generation V, at www.volunteer.ca.

Promote Volunteerism
Send in your ideas for activities or post your youth event on our events calendar.

For volunteer centres and community organizations:

• Use real, personal stories and testimonials of volunteers to promote IYV. Share them with the media, collect them into a book, or publicize them in newsletters. Let people know about your local volunteers.
  
• Plan volunteer recognition and appreciation events throughout the year, particularly during National Volunteer Week. In 2001, National Volunteer Week will take place from April 22-28.
  
• Make a scrapbook or photo album showcasing the contributions of volunteers in your community. For ideas, see the scrapbook created for National Volunteer Week 2000, available through Volunteer Canada at www.volunteer.ca.
  
• Emphasize the importance of volunteering. Raise awareness about the work that volunteers do. How many paid staff would you have to engage to work the hours worked by volunteers? What is the impact of volunteer work in your community?
  
• Talk to those in the community who benefit from volunteers' work. What difference does it make to them?
  
• Build on the power of events. Include a celebration of volunteering in all of your events during 2001. Every 2001 event should mention IYV 2001, show the logo, etc.
  
• Organize a play or other public events to celebrate the contributions of volunteers. Consider ways to link this activity with volunteer recruitment and / or fundraising.
  
• Ask the town / city / municipality to declare its support for IYV through an official proclamation of the year.
  
• Organize an IYV kick-off event in coordination with other agencies in your community.
  
• Create a volunteer-a-thon to collect pledges of volunteer time. Consider doing this as a school challenge, or workplace challenge.
  
• Create a video of the contributions volunteers make in a typical day.

Improving accessibility and volunteering for all.

For volunteer centres and community organizations, government:

• Facilitate opportunities to discuss policy and legislation that will enhance volunteerism and provide better access to volunteering.
  
• Physical location: Are buildings wheelchair accessible, well signed and marked? Do organizations hold events in accessible venues? How is the public transit accessibility?
  
• Written materials: Are your materials available in alternate formats for people with visual impairments? Are some or all of your materials produced in Braille, on audiotape, and / or in large print?
  
• Web page: Is your organization's Web page designed with accessibility guidelines in mind? (for resources, see the Web Accessibility Initiative at www.w3.org/WAI or the Government of Canada Internet Guide at canada.gc.ca/programs/guide ).
  
• Language: In what languages are materials available? Does this reflect the language needs of your community?
  
• Plan and carry out a seminar on accessibility of volunteer programs. Invite community agencies and others that wish to recruit volunteers. Focus on the ways in which organizations and communities are enriched through diversity, and practical ways to improve accessibility.
  
• Set concrete goals for increasing accessibility as part of IYV 2001. Allocate or apply for funds to improve your accessibility.
  
• Meeting the challenge of diverse communities:
  
• Do the board and volunteer base represent the diversity of the community? This can be diversity in terms of language, age, cultural background, etc.
  
• Is your staff trained to deal with volunteers who have diverse needs? Can they accommodate the needs of the "atypical" volunteer?
  
• Do you know the various cultures in your community? Are they reflected in your volunteer base?
  
• Are your publications written in an understandable language?
  
• Develop programs to recruit more diverse representation. Hold a workshop or develop materials to assist voluntary agencies in increasing their diversity. Recruit a pool of volunteers to translate materials or transcribe them into alternate formats.
  
• Recruiting and retaining new types of volunteers
  
• Today's volunteers do not necessarily have the same availability, skills, needs, and schedules as the volunteers of the past. How can you facilitate volunteering by:
  
• Families?
  
• New Canadians
  
• For information on senior volunteers, consult the information on volunteering and healthy aging at www.volunteer.ca.

Corporate Employee Volunteerism and IYV

Hundreds of companies engage their employees in community development or community relations activity as an act of civic and social responsibility. The benefits of community involvement for a company are numerous and obvious. Consumers take notice of small or large business that are actively engaged in its commitment to the community through sponsorships, events, and participation of its employees in community events. Corporate or employee volunteering is a significant contribution to the well being of a community and its impact on credibility and public relations of a company.

In addition to the many benefits to the company's corporate image, employers are increasingly recognizing the value of their employees being in the community and gaining valuable skills while at the same time making a difference in the community. Employees are motivated, develop interpersonal and team work skills.

1. Enable and promote employee volunteerism:

• Include information in company internal employee information or newsletters about volunteering the community.
  
• Partner with a local volunteer centre to identify opportunities to volunteer.
  
• Encourage employee volunteerism. For example, will businesses in your community promote an annual day off in recognition of employees' volunteer hours?
  
• Investigate corporate volunteering. Ask firms about their experiences. Would firms active in employee volunteerism be "champions" of volunteering and advocate with other firms to enact such programs?
  
• Are there needs in your locality with which firms and their employees could help, but which may not be amenable to "traditional" volunteering?
  
• Hold a seminar in your area to study, for example, the benefits (for the company, employees and the community) of a workplace volunteer program. Talk about how volunteer programs coincide with corporate objectives, or approaches to encouraging service among employees.

2. Promote volunteer recognition within your company and the community.

• Spotlight prominent people who volunteer in innovative ways.
  
• Publicize research showing the ways people contribute to their community, whether or not it is through formal volunteering.
  
• Encourage people to think about how they are volunteers, even if they are not necessarily giving their time through an organization. Do they assist neighbours, extended family, co-workers? Do they facilitate volunteering by others through offering support, childcare, etc.? Do they volunteer for their child's school by participating in and supporting school activities? Are they an unofficial mentor for a youth at risk?
  
• Write articles for local media, company website or newsletter celebrating the volunteers in your company

3. Provide support for local community IYV projects.

• Promote the use of the Internet for "virtual volunteering". There are assignments volunteers can carry out online, and this approach is particularly well suited to the needs of persons who are housebound or have disabilities.
  
• Allowing use of business facilities and equipment for volunteer activities;
  
• Plan volunteer recognition and appreciation events throughout the year, and particularly during National Volunteer Week, Global Youth service day or the anniversary of your company.
  
• Organize a company volunteer-a-thon to collect pledges of volunteer time. Consider a challenge between departments, or challenge other organizations to top your hours pledged.
  
• Create or modify a program, product or service, to be delivered in 2001, that targets volunteers and has the tag line attached identifying it as an IYV initiative.
  
• Refer to IYV in commercials or advertising scheduled for 2001.
  
• Use the logo for IYV on company correspondence (i.e, bills, letters, announcements etc.)
  
• Sponsor a contest for the best story, poem, poster or play about volunteers.
  
• Sponsor a video or photography contest about volunteering.
  
• Develop a family volunteering program.
  
• Develop a retiree-volunteering program.

Extracts taken from Volunteer Canada IYV activity planning.

International Year of Volunteers 2001 and Youth Week 2001

Event
May 5-11 B.C. Youth Week - Joint partnership to promote Youth participation in volunteering through random acts of Kindness.
May 6th - Youth Blitz

Partnership
Volunteer B.C. and B.C. Youth Week Team - Chris Lam

Overview:

2001 is the International Year of Volunteers (IYV). Volunteer B.C. is the central coordinator for IYV activities and events in British Columbia.

In B.C., 3 main objectives have been identified for IYV:
1. Promote volunteerism and its value in B.C.
2. Celebrate and recognize volunteers in B.C.
3. Improve access to volunteering and remove barriers

It is an important year to showcase volunteerism in B.C. by different groups, individuals and organizations. One of the key groups identified, as an important volunteer resource is youth.
For youth, volunteering brings a new sense of confidence, self-gratification and a good way to interact in the "grown-up world". It also enables young people to develop new communication, career building and social skills that will be useful in other facets of their lives.

Youth are still a relatively untapped resource in our communities. Their vision, hopes, and ideas are needed to help define our future society in this ever-changing world. Because young people speak from a unique and often unheard perspective, they are able to offer new insights on issues that require urgent action.

Youth Week (May 5 -11) is a celebration of the efforts, energies, and positive contributions that youth put into their communities all year round; it is an opportunity for people of all ages to learn about and from youth people. May 6th is Youth Blitz in B.C. being kicked off by encouraging youth to engage in "Random Acts of Kindness"

A joint initiative would be a great step towards connecting youth with the community through volunteering. There are over 30 volunteer centres around B.C. and these represent the focal point in communities to community voluntary action.

Objectives for joint initiative:

1. Celebrate IYV in B.C. showcasing youth volunteers around the province
2. Demonstrate the force, impact and value of youth as volunteers participating in random acts of kindness.
3. Work in partnership with youth leadership to promote a positive image of youth working together.
4. Encourage youth to be involved in their communities
5. Initiate partnership between youth and volunteer centres in communities throughout B.C.
6. Establish a partnership model between provincial organizations : Volunteer B.C. and B.C. youth week

Event Opportunity

• Volunteer B.C. to facilitate youth in B.C. to connect with local volunteer centres (34) to participate in volunteer opportunities during B.C. Youth Week - and establish ongoing relationship with volunteer centres throughout B.C., either through a structured volunteer program, or to get a taste of volunteering in their community as a "random act of kindness"

•Volunteer activities could range from 1 hour of mowing lawn for a senior to outing for children, office support at a non profit to complimentary car wash etc…… Volunteer centres could assist youth by matching them with projects at an organization or with non-profits and provide tools for volunteering - i.e. how to's, etiquette, managing people and basically getting connected to the community.

• 3 or 4 communities could formally be asked to enlist and a template for getting connected would be developed and communities around B.C. through the youth week committee, municipalities, youth centres and volunteer centres would be encourage to adopt the initiative of "random acts of kindness" in support of IYV 2001.

Promotional Opportunities

1. Develop contacts at Municipalities, youth centres, volunteer centres and other invested groups to spread the word

2. Bulletin to non profits, volunteer centres and organizations involving volunteers about the Youth Blitz event

3. Media package - include:

1. Newsrelease about Youth week(with story ideas for media) - Chris and Nurishah
2. Media Advisory - send a template for an advisory to the youth contacts around the province so they can drop their event announcement in the media advisory and send to local media to cover event - Nurishah
3. During youth week - work with community newspapers to showcase the youth volunteer activities around the province. - local contacts with be identified in pressreleases i.e. either a youth contact if there is one in that community or a volunteer centre
4. List of volunteer centres around province to have youth connect- Nurishah
5. Backgrounder on Youth week - Chris
6. Backgrounder on International Year of Volunteers - Nurishah
7. Connect with youth contacts to coordinate youth blitz - Chris
8. Contact VTV to get on community spotlight breakfast show - Nurishah

4. Develop stories on website for IYV in B.C. - asking youth to submit information, and stories on youth volunteering. (celebrate the youth in youth theme and random acts of kindness theme)

5. During youth week - work with community newspapers to showcase the youth volunteer activities around the province. - local contacts with be identified in pressreleases i.e. either a youth contact if there is one in that community or a volunteer centre.