Alone in Canada — Helping yourself by helping others

“When you stay home and you have nothing to do, and you don’t have a plan, you begin to feel depressed. You feel like an animal in the zoo – just eating and doing nothing. That is why I took a volunteer job. It makes me feel better. Now I have something to do and I can plan my day and my week.”
Selina, from Colombia

Helping people in the community is a good way to feel better about yourself and your situation. By volunteering, you can share your time, skills or knowledge with others. Many people volunteer in Canada. Even though you will not be paid, you may meet people who can help you to find a job or make friends. Volunteering can give newcomers the “Canadian experience” employers look for when hiring new employees. You can use the agency where you volunteer as a reference when you look for paid work.

There is a variety of volunteer positions available. You can volunteer for an agency that helps people from your home country. This may help to lessen the stress of living in a new culture. Or you can volunteer with an agency that serves everyone in the community. In this case, you can use your English and share your culture with other people.

Make sure that your volunteer work is something that you enjoy. For example, if you like being with old people, you could volunteer to visit those in hospital, deliver meals to those living at home, or you could talk or read to those living in nursing homes.

Some people may volunteer every day while others can do so for only a few hours each month. Be realistic about how much time you want to spend volunteering and for how long. Community agencies looking for volunteers often advertise in the local newspaper. You can also find volunteer jobs by checking the directory of community services at the library or on the library’s Web site. Or, you can directly call the place or agency where you are interested in volunteering.

Exercise

This exercise may help you to think about volunteer work.

1. List three reasons why you want to volunteer.

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2. List three things you would like to do as a volunteer. For example, organizing events, helping children or cooking.

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3. List three places where you would like to volunteer. For example, church, hospital or theatre.

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4. List the types of people you would like to work with. For example, children, women or prisoners.

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In Alone in Canada

Alone in Canada — Helping yourself by helping others

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