GUELPH – As National Volunteer Week approaches, PIN – The People and Information Network – is highlighting the value of volunteerism and the benefits it can have not only for the community, but for the individual.
“We are all connected to a volunteer” says Kim Cusimano, executive director at PIN.
Through the Statistics Canada General Social Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating, 12.7 million Canadians volunteer formally – 1.6 billion hours which would be valued at approximately $32.7 billion, according to an April 1 press release from PIN.
In Ontario, there are five million volunteers donating 820 million hours, the equivalent of 400,00 full-time jobs.
Cusimano emphasised the importance of having the awareness and the understanding that volunteering is not just “nice to have,” but that there is real impact.
“When you think about it, it’s almost like six degrees of separation,” she explained. “You don’t have to look far … to see volunteering in action, and the contributions that people are making.
“There’s real impact,” she added. “And I think it’s really important to have solid awareness, and a real good understanding of what that impact looks like.”
The more organizations like PIN are able to provide that information to people, she explained, the more individuals will be able to see and understand what that looks like in their community
“And just to pause and take a moment and look around your circle of life, if you will, and kind of see where volunteers are helping in your life and in your community, in your family’s life and in your community,” Cusimano explained.
Cusimano said it’s also about creating awareness, not only around numbers and data, but around people’s understanding that volunteering has reciprocal benefits, not only to the community, but to the individual.
“We often hear volunteers that you speak with, or listen to, and they will often say, I feel like I give more than I receive, or I feel like I receive more than I give,” she said.
“So they’re receiving sort of that feeling of connection to community, seeing the happiness,” she added. “And recognizing in yourself that you have made that contribution I think is really soul filling, it provides meaning and purpose.”
Over the last two years, one of the biggest things people are missing, she explained, is connection.
Quoting Brené Brown, Cusimano stressed “’humans are hardwired for connection’ and volunteerism is a distinct, profound and impactful way to feel connection and feel as though you are part of your community – you’re part of something bigger into your community.
“The more you are connected as a community, the more you can become resilient as a community, you can have a better perspective by volunteering, you can understand community issues better by volunteering,” she added. “And when we know better, we certainly can do better.”
Empathy in action
The theme of this year’s National Volunteer Week is ‘Volunteering is Empathy in Action” affirming the strong connection between volunteerism and empathy, which Cusimano said is right on the mark.
“It’s truly needed out there and it’s a real example of how people have answered the call to volunteer in a really dark time over COVID,” she explained.
She added that we need volunteer involvement in communities in order to support the various programs and services that non-profits and charities are working towards to meet their mission.
Through a community benefit sector survey PIN conducted last fall, Cusimano said the organization knows there’s an increased demand for service, which highlights the need for more volunteers.
“I think what needs to be shared as well is just that the knowledge is part of the heart and passion of individuals in the community, when they see a need, and they start something themselves,” she said.
Eliminating barriers
PIN has been the local hub of volunteerism since 2001 and through the years, the organization has put an emphasis on eliminating barriers and making volunteering more accessible.
Cusimano said the organization is continuously seeking to connect and provide support to individuals in the community looking to access volunteer opportunities.
This includes providing supports around posting of opportunities or recruitment of volunteer opportunities. It also looks at the accessibility of the opportunities and the information provided.
In addition, the organization also looks at whether a role may be more suitable to a certain demographic.
Over the years, PIN has had individuals come to the organization that either know exactly what they want to do and just want to ensure that they’ve got that volunteer opportunity, or they’ve had numbers of people who are interested in volunteering but they just don’t know what’s available.
“We know that that’s one of the reasons why people don’t volunteer, they don’t know what’s available, and no one’s asked,” Cusimano said.
“What we seek to do is to inspire individuals to volunteer to provide them with a variety of different opportunities that would meet their needs and interests.
“And whether that be availability of time, day, location, but within our portal, we also have the knowledge around accessibility,” she added.
“So trying to help people find something that would work really well for their areas of interest and their needs.”
Cusimano said the organization wants as many people as possible to know it is there and that organizers are happy to connect with individuals to answer questions and provide resources.
PIN also offers capacity building training, whether that be workshops, online modules or training.
“So there’s lots of different components that all come together,” she explained.
“So that PIN is able to support the individual seeking opportunity or really maybe had not thought about opportunity before, as well as the non-profit charitable sector.”
Time to Give
PIN will be celebrating volunteerism during National Volunteer Week April 24 to 30 with the organization’s annual ‘Time to Give’ on April 29.
Visit PINnetwork.ca for more information.
