Volunteering  Canada

Restoration of Killaloe’s Hoch Farm heritage site
       Killaloe, Ontario          June 4 – June 24, 2006

Volunteer project: Pioneer farming and active encouragement of immigration were hallmarks of the young Canada. The Hoch Farm is the only designated heritage site in Killaloe-Hagarty-Richards Township, Ontario. It reflects the pioneering agricultural development of the area, as well as its rich cultural background. The property was originally a land grant offered by the early Government of Canada to Europeans willing to immigrate to Renfrew County. As a result, the ethnic German and Polish population in the area grew significantly in the 19c.
The Killaloe Heritage Society is in the midst of a project to turn the old pioneer immigrant homestead into a full-fledged heritage site. The farmhouse was renovated and partially opened as a museum in the summer of 2005. The plan is to open the second floor this year. The other initiative of the farm is the development of an adjacent wetland conservation area as an environmental education centre on the eastern side of the property.

The volunteers will tackle the cleaning and painting of the second floor of the farmhouse, as well as the repair of the floor in its main room. They will also clean out the barn and the area around it as a preliminary step in the establishment of a show-place for heritage farm implements and vehicles. In addition, the volunteer group will lay down the planking for the walk-ways in the conservation area. Finally, they would help with the installation of community gardens.
As a side activity, the group can help in the installation of a concrete pad for the local hockey rink. This project would allow this space to become a year-round recreation facility - for example, through the erection of basketball nets, and the construction of ramps for a skate-board park.

Location: The Township of Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards is situated in the western part of Renfrew County in Eastern Ontario. Ottawa is about two hours drive east of the township, and Toronto is about three and a half hours southwest. While there, you can check out the First Canadian Polish settlement located amongst the beautiful rolling hills in Wilno, or try your hand at fishing on Round Lake. Round Lake also provides great opportunities for canoeing, swimming, or even a relaxing boat ride.

Nearest international airports: Ottawa, ON and Toronto, ON
 

 

Art, music and gardening program for elderly people in Vancouver
       Vancouver, British Columbia          June 4 - June 24, 2006
       Vancouver, British Columbia          June 25 - July 15, 2006
       Vancouver, British Columbia          July 16 - August 5, 2006
       Vancouver, British Columbia          August 6 - August 26, 2006

Volunteer project: Haro Park Centre is the largest care facility in the West End of Vancouver. It provides independent housing, assisted living and complex care for elders. Haro Park supports the Eden philosophy and is committed to creating a human habitat where life revolves around close and continuing contact with plants, animals, children and youth. Haro Park Centre aims at establishing a homelike environment that emphasizes a quality of life supporting the physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual well-being of each person.
Volunteers will contribute to the quality of life of the elders by taking part in a multifaceted program involving residents in gardening, art, music activities, walking and just being outside in the summer time.

Volunteers would accompany staff and residents on outings allowing the involvement of more residents. Volunteers would be paired with residents for walking and will assist staff with the gardening, art and music programs. Volunteers will accompany residents on trips to the museum, art gallery, parks as well as bus trips for picnics or prearranged tours. Walks or bus trips will be organized to sites for art sessions or gathering items for art at Haro Park Centre such as leaves, flowers, etc. The group will help organize a walking event in which residents compete at different levels – walking category, wheelchair, etc. Volunteers are expected to be creative, flexible, respectful and responsive to the residents’ needs.

Accommodation: In the Haro Park Centre’s building. Volunteer should bring sleeping bag.

Location: Haro Park Centre is located in Downtown Vancouver, close to museums, theatre, art gallery, upscale shopping and Stanley park with its beaches and other attractions. Vancouver’s most popular shopping area – the trendy Robson street is just a block away. The centerpiece and green heart of Vancouver is Stanley Park, the city's most famous landmark, and one of the largest parks in any urban centre in North America. There are wooded trails, open playing fields, secluded lakes, gorgeous gardens, and the Vancouver Aquarium, the largest in Canada. A seawall walkway meanders along the park's perimeter, with beautiful views of the city skyline, the harbour, beaches, and the spectacular North Shore Mountains. Vancouver's fame as one of the most beautiful cities in the world is tied to Stanley Park's popularity.

You can see a short movie for Vancouver if you click here or on the banner below.

Nearest international airport: Vancouver, BC
 

 

Summer day camp program for children with autism
       Comox Valley, British Columbia          July 9 – July 29, 2006

Volunteer project: The Comox Valley Child Development Association provides services for children with special needs and their families. With the help of international volunteers they would like to provide social and recreational summer day camp program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), ages 10-15 years. The children are quite high functioning in certain areas, but often struggle with social skills and the mastery of appropriate communication and behaviour. The project will include one week intensive training of the volunteers followed by the 2-week day camp with the kids.

The volunteers will learn about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and how to support these children in a social/recreational program. Under the direction of the campleader, the volunteers will support the children to participate in small group activities such as planning and performing skits which explore daily life with ASD, preparing lunch meals, exploring the community on daily outings including local lakes, rivers, beaches and farms, etc. The group work is intended to provide children with specific tasks and encourage both appropriate social and communication skills. Volunteers will also help to create a handbook about summer activities for youth in the Comox Valley drawing on the experiences of the workcamp. The volunteers involved in this project will gain valuable insight into the world of autism.

Requirements: Volunteers need to be fluent in English. They are required to provide a clear criminal record check.

Accommodation: In a building. Volunteers need to bring sleeping bags.

Location: Stretching along the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, the Comox Valley is a collection of rolling mountains, alpine meadows, rushing rivers, pristine lakes, lush forests, fertile farms, sandy beaches and green parks. The City of Courtenay (20,000 inhabitants) is the urban and cultural hub of the Comox Valley with its downtown considered to be one of the most vibrant and charming downtowns on Vancouver Island and an incredible cultural district that includes theatre, art gallery, museums and paleontology centre.

Nearest international airport: Victoria, BC
 

 

Preserving heritage varieties and endangered species in the Kootenays
       Nelson, British Columbia          August 6 - August 19, 2006

Volunteer project: Earth Matters is an environmental organization that addresses community environmental and social issues. They focus on developing and running programs for sustainable agriculture and community gardening, waste reduction and composting, environmental education, eco-forestry, alternative energy and ecological restoration.

This project aims to involve international volunteers in environmental gardening projects connected to food security and preserving endangered and heritage varieties. The project for increasing local food security links homeowners who are unable to harvest their fruit trees with community members who can use their fruit. The harvested fruit is shared with non-profit community organizations that distribute fruit to people with low incomes. Some of the volunteers’ activities will be related to preserving heritage varieties of vegetables and fruit. Heritage varieties have been grown by humans over many generations but are now very rare since modern agriculture has selected only a handful of food crops to grow and today 75% of the vegetable and fruit varieties in North America are endangered.

Volunteers will work on different gardening projects. They will help harvest medicinal herbs, cull a garden, save and dry seeds, pick local fruit, dry fruits and herbs, harvest vegetables and coordinate seed saving of heritage varieties and medicinal plants.

Accommodation: In a building. Sleeping bags will be necessary.

Location: Surrounded by pristine mountains and set on the shores of the giant Kootenay Lake in the interior of British Columbia, Nelson is a place where life is unhurried and people say "hello" to strangers. In 19 c. gold and silver were found in the area and Nelson grew quickly as a result of the frantic mining activity. Turn-of-the-century ambiance still lingers in every corner from the 350 preserved heritage buildings. Lakeside Park is the pride of Nelson’s waterfront, encompassing almost every outdoor activity that you can imagine. A long, beautiful beach, wide promenade and large open green spaces highlight the area.

Nearest international airport: Spokane, Washington, USA
 

 

Renovation of social housing residence in Vancouver
       Vancouver, British Columbia          August 6 - August 26, 2006

Volunteer project: While Vancouver is one of the wealthiest and most beautiful cities in Canada, it is also a home of the poorest neighbourhood across the country The international volunteer workcamp is one of the many projects undertaken by charity and non-profit organizations to improve the housing situation and life of the poor, disadvantaged and displaced people in this area.
The volunteer project is organized in cooperation with the Downtown Eastside Residents’ Association – a community based organization focusing on the key components of poverty and homelessness. They work to provide decent, secure and affordable housing, jobs, community and recreational facilities for the low-income population. The organization manages 562 units of social housing at four locations.
One of them is Marie Gomez House, providing home for 76 low-income people who live in small self-contained units. All residents are multibarriered and at extreme risk of becoming homeless. Many of them are mentally ill or drug-addicted. Marie Gomez House is in serious need of renovation. International group of volunteers will help in partial demolition, various renovation and reconstruction works. The building enhancements will help to foster a sense of home and empowerment among the residents.

Volunteers will work on the renovation of the building. The renovation and reconstruction activities include demolition of patios, removing debris, painting, flooring, gardening, shrub removal, planting an indigenous garden. The work will be mostly manual and sometimes physically demanding.

No special skills are needed but people with skills in painting, carpentry and gardening are very welcome.

Accommodation: In a building located in Downtown Vancouver, 10 min walking from the work site. Sleeping bags will be needed.

Location: The Downtown Eastside is the oldest neighbourhood in Vancouver. This area was the center of the City at the turn of the century. City hall, the courthouse and the Vancouver Carnegie Public Library were all located here. It was also the main shopping area for the city as well as major cultural and entertainment district. Here are the very popular Vancouver's historic Chinatown and Gastown Historical District.
You can see a short movie for Vancouver if you click here.

Nearest international airport: Vancouver, BC
 

 

Support and leisure program for people with intellectual disabilities
       Kawartha Lakes, Ontario          August 6 – August 26, 2006

Volunteer project: Community living is something most people experience naturally, as part of our daily lives. We live in communities, go to schools and have the opportunity to work at real jobs and to contribute as productive citizens. But for many people who have intellectual or developmental challenges, community living is a dream, an objective yet to be realized. At all ages, many people with intellectual challenges face physical and social barriers that keep them from participating in the social, recreational and economic world around them.
Community Living Kawartha Lakes is a charitable organization providing a wide range of services and direct support to people with intellectual challenges as they develop their capacity to live, learn, work and participate in all aspects of living in the community. They also help the community to develop its capacity to welcome and support individuals who have not always had the same opportunities as the rest of us to participate in community life in meaningful and productive ways.

Participants in the volunteer project will support the work of Community Living Kawartha Lakes in different ways. The group will do some landscaping and ground enhancement as well as painting and minor repairs on some of the residences of the association where the support programs take place. The volunteers will also work directly with the people affected by disabilities from the City of Kawartha Lakes involving support to adults in day programs and organizing leisure activities for the youths with intellectual challenges.

Accommodation: In a building. Sleeping bags will be necessary.

Location: Kawartha Lakes is just over one hour northeast of Toronto in central Ontario and has 250 lakes and waterways to enjoy. Many of the lakes are linked by the scenic Trent-Severn Waterway, a water system of canals and lakes that allow boaters to travel the 387 kilometers of water from Lake Ontario up to Lake Huron. It takes roughly a week to travel the full length of the system by boat. The City of Kawartha Lakes is a “community of communities” with a population of 72.000, offering various recreational choices, historical attractions and festivals throughout the year.

Nearest international airport: Toronto, ON
 

 

Renovation and environmental works by Sylvan Lake
       Sylvan Lake, Alberta          August 13 - August 26, 2006

Volunteer project: Camp Sherbino is owned by the Red Deer Kiwanis Club and jointly operated with the Girl Guides of Canada. Thousands of Girl Guides and Kiwanis have utilized this camp for many years. It is in a natural setting on the northeast shore of Sylvan Lake in Central Alberta. Many girls and adults have benefited from the closeness to nature and local wildlife. You can see a beaver passing by the camp, a moose standing in the dark or hear the voice of coyote in the night. This camp is a learning environment for all groups. The camp requires labour intensive work to its buildings and grounds which these groups are unable to perform due to age and ability.

Volunteers will help with some building renovation and construction works as well as environmental maintenance on the grounds surrounding the camp. The tasks would include hauling and cutting wood from the bush, painting exterior of buildings, cleaning eavestroughs, building a small cook house deck, cutting and laying old carpet for trails, burning brush, clearing out old camp sites and some carpentry work. Work can be physically demanding at times.

Accommodation: The camp is basic with three small cabins, a cookhouse and Clarence Hall. Volunteers will sleep in Clarence Hall, a large heated building. They will require sleeping bags. Water is taken from an underground well in a well house. Volunteers can enjoy swimming, jet skiing and kayaking in the lake in their free time.

Location: Camp Sherbino is located on the northeast side of Sylvan Lake in Lacombe County. It is 5 km north of the town of Sylvan Lake. The town of Sylvan Lake, famous as “A Town For All Seasons”, is situated in Central Alberta, midway between Alberta's largest cities, Edmonton and Calgary (161 km from each), and is the gateway to the beautiful Sylvan Lake Provincial Park. It has the second largest marina in the province, with one of the cleanest lakes in Canada.

Nearest international airports: Calgary, AB and Edmonton, AB