The Women’s Centre offers women opportunities to both receive and provide support, to connect with others and build community through a variety of programs.
Volunteers are the cornerstone of the Women’s Centre as they run almost every aspect of the important work that we do. In 2016, we were thankful for the work of over 750 active volunteers! The Women’s Centre has a unique volunteer program because women who access our services also have the opportunity to give back to our community when they are able to. This provides women with a sense of ownership and empowerment as engaged community members. Every act makes a difference in the Centre from making sure there is always hot coffee available for women who come to the Centre to connect, to sitting on our Social Issues Committee to organize discussion nights for our community. Other volunteer opportunities include our Board of Directors, peer support, workshop facilitation, legal advice, ushering football games, fundraising casino events, community ambassadors…the list goes on!
Our volunteers are all remarkably dedicated to their volunteer opportunities at the Women’s Centre. Some have been here since we started as an independent organization in 1997 and others are involved in multiple parts of the Women’s Centre. With that kind of support, we make sure to show our sincere appreciation for all their hard work and continued contributions. Each year, we host our Volunteer Appreciation Party, which celebrates the volunteers who have contributed so much of their skills, time and enthusiasm throughout the entire year. We also realize that it is important to let volunteers know how much we appreciate them each time they volunteer, by verbally expressing our gratitude, sending thank-you emails throughout the year, or writing a blog post just for them!
So to all of our volunteers, “You may not realize this but you are the real life Superwomen and Supermen in the lives of all the people you have helped. Thanks so much for volunteering.” -Anonymous