News from Volunteer & Information Quinte:
Welcome to the Community Hub. Are you unsure what volunteer activities are available? Are you unsure what activity you would like to perform? Are you concerned about the type of commitment you are making? Volunteer & Information Quinte can help! Established in 1966 Volunteer & Information Quinte offers volunteer recruitment and referral to over 180 agencies located in Hastings and Prince Edward Counties which otherwise would not have the manpower to recruit volunteers. We promote volunteerism and assist students with their mandatory community hours. We manage the largest community database from which we provide an information hotline to people who are seeking direction. Via different tools we promote non-profit sector’s events and services. We are the key centre for volunteerism and information for Hastings and Prince Edward Counties. We are happy to report that The Community Capacity Development program funded by Ontario Trillium Foundation has had an extremely successful first year. We have received positive feedback from both volunteers and agencies on how the program has benefited them. Our most recent agency satisfaction survey indicates 67% of the agencies responding indicated VIQ's service Improved or Exceeded expectations and 78% reported the Community Hub software as a useful recruitment tool. Studies show the number of people volunteering their time has been declining. This has been due in large part to the aging of the traditional volunteer base and the decline in groups, such as church groups, where historically, many of our volunteers came from. To address this, we are conducting speaking engagements with the local high schools, encouraging the Grade 10 students to get involved in volunteerism and to make effective use of their 40 hour community involvment requirement. This has met with great success as evidenced by the large number of high school students who volunteered for the recent "Good Back Pack" program. We are partnering with the Hastings and Prince Edward School board to expand this program in Year Two of the grant. On a broader note, we are conducting similar speaking engagements with Loyalist College Social Service Worker (SSW) students, private businesses, church groups and seniors associations. If you are interested in booking a speaker contact our office for more details, 613-969-8862. The other thrust of the program is to bring technology to the business of volunteer management. We now have over 1200 volunteers registered on the Community Hub software accounting for over 1800 referrals which has exceeded our Year One target of 1000. To date we have 161 agencies registered accounting for over 380 volunteer opportunities. Volunteers are reporting that interenet access to these listings has greatly improved their awareness of what is available. If you are unsure of the volunteer activity you are interested in, fill out the registration form online. Choose Community Agency Support through VIQ and our Manager of Volunteer Services will setup an appointment to discuss various ideas with you. Join today to discover the wonderful world of volunteerism. The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Government of Ontario. For over 25 years, the Foundation has supported the growth and vitality of communities across the province. OTF continues to strengthen the capacity of the volunteer sector through investments in community based initiatives. For more information, please visit. www.trilliumfoundation.org.