Tyler Voigt
Special to The Record
In the wings of small-businesses, entrepreneurial startups and corporations, I am seeing creative ways members of our community are becoming involved in volunteering. No, I am not talking about the cheap party trick that drops off the shelf in marketing meetings from time to time.
Businesses are creating real top-down frameworks where employees volunteer to further the social values of the companies and bottom-up support for employees wishing to further their own altruistic endeavours.
However, when it comes to supporting their employees, businesses are struggling to provide all of the details on community engagement: How do we find you, the volunteer, opportunities you’re looking for? Which non-profits should we recommend based on focused areas of interest? How do we engage our workforce in a group volunteer event? How do we ensure the employee makes the most of the time off for volunteering?
Our community volunteer centre provides the answers to many of these questions and I am available on a regular basis to support businesses looking to engage employees in the community. By making volunteer opportunities more accessible, small-businesses can further diversify their existing volunteer programs to feature volunteer opportunities on a full-time regular basis. When time available is the limiting factor, modern contribution tools available makes giving back easier and more convenient than ever before.
In this modern era of economic uncertainty, I greatly respect businesses that contribute to those in greatest need and serve as an ambassador of our entire community.
Current volunteer opportunities:
•Committee Chair - Comox Valley Scotiabank MS Walk
•Re-Store Receiving & Product Testing – Habitat for Humanity
• Hospice Worker – Comox Valley Hospice Society
• Housekeeping Helper – Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society
• Swimming Assistant – Cumberland Health Centre and Lodge
• KidStart Mentor – KidStart Mentoring
Tyler Voigt is the executive director of Volunteer Comox Valley. He can be reached at 250-334-8063