This is a remote volunteer position supporting the Guelph-Wellington Community. All shifts and training are completed remotely, therefore, residence in Guelph-Wellington is not a requirement for this position.

Responsibilities:

• Complete outbound and outbound calls with service users residing in the county
• Complete safety/wellness checks, provide medication reminders, and engage in social conversations with vulnerable populations
• Assist with crisis intervention, when presented
• Utilize a strengths-based, solution-focused approach
• Provide external resources and referrals to service users 
• Complete case documentation of all interactions with service users

Pregnancy and Infant Loss (PAIL) Network provides bereavement support at no cost to families who have experienced the loss of a pregnancy at any stage, or the death of their baby, up to 12 months of age. We currently have volunteer opportunities for people who are approximately two years past their bereavement date and are looking for meaningful ways to offer their support to others. We are actively training peer supporters for private online bereavement support groups and one-to-one phone support.

Kids Help Phone’s texting service is the only free, 24/7 bilingual text line for people in Canada. The service is delivered by trained, volunteer crisis responders who work remotely. 

We are recruiting overnight and or bilingual crisis responders who will answer texts from young people looking for support in both English AND French.

The volunteer position will be remote, meaning that you can participate from anywhere in Canada as long you have a strong, reliable internet connection!  

Our volunteers need to be enthusiastic about helping people!

You can be a professional, student, teacher, retiree, or anybody else with a willingness to learn how to support people over text.  

The role of a crisis responder is to bring texters from a “hot” moment to a cool calm one, and to help them come up with a plan to stay healthy and safe.

Crisis responders are trained to do this using active listening and collaborative problem-solving.

• Provide weekly companionship to client of Breaking Down Barriers.
• Assist with activities like arts & crafts, cooking, scrapbooking, weaving and Friendship Café
• Meet for conversation, maybe go for an outing and just be a friendly face to someone who may otherwise be isolated.

• Providing peer to peer support for people who are grieving the loss of a loved one
• This support is offered over the phone, and is arranged by our Social Worker

The board will continuously monitor the organization’s programs and activities to be sure they are aligned with the mission to achieve short-term goals and long-term purpose. They will exercise fiduciary responsibility to obtain and appropriately use resources required to carry out the organization’s mission.

Support our Social Recreation Coordinator with the delivery of varied programs for people living with dementia.
• Ensure that participants are engaged
• Some light set up and clean up of the space for each program
• Training as appropriate for each course
• Volunteers participate in the activities along with the participants - It's fun!
• This program may be held virtually during the pandemic. A computer would be a requirement to volunteer in that case

• Help with the set up and clean up of refreshments, games, and activities for the program
• Assist the Minds in Motion Coordinator to ensure activity participation and socialization. This may include spending one-on-one time with participants who need extra support
• Under the direction of the Physical Activity Program Leader, provide one-on-one support to participants during the physical activity component of the program
• Assist with any other required tasks

Overview & Impact: The Humane Education Program is an excellent way to connect with youth in our community and teach them about empathy, compassion and responsible pet ownership by focusing on the human-animal bond. In 2023, 4000 youth participated in the Humane Education Program - building skills in social and emotional development.

Based on the Humane Education Volunteer’s skill set and chosen course / club, they may support this important GTHS program at our Collingwood Animal Centre and / or in the community. The majority of our programming takes place onsite at our Animal Centre.

Position Summary: Reporting to the Humane Education Specialist, Humane Education Volunteers assist and engage youth aged between 7-17 enrolled in a range of GTHS after-school programs. The youth age group supported will depend on the course / club the HE Volunteer selects.

Time Commitment based on area(s) of interest: 8 consecutive weeks’ commitment from February 2025 is required (dates will be provided at time of application or enquiry). Volunteers will be expected to arrive 15 minutes before and stay approximately 15 minutes after the club / course session time.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES may include:

• Assisting with running the program at the direction of the Humane Education Coordinator
• Helping to create a fun, encouraging learning environment
• Live videoing and explanation of Animal Centre activities (tour, Q&A)
• Making animal related crafts
• Engaging, supervising and working with children to direct their activities
• Ensuring animals are being handled compassionately
• Answering questions that arise