A new online exhibition featuring the stories of new Canadians who volunteer in their communities demonstrates that you don’t need a long history in the country to be able to start giving back.
Not only does
Citizens in Action encourage recent immigrants to get involved in their new country through volunteering, it reminds all Canadians that newcomers bring more than just work-related skills with them.
“We have met so amazing individuals, we wanted to share what they’re doing with the entire country,” says Jess Duerden, director of communications at the
Institute for Canadian Citizenship. The national charity aims to accelerate new citizens’ integration into Canadian life and decided the website was a great way to showcase how well many of them are doing. “It does a lot to show that new citizens are engaged and doing their part and remind people, 'As a matter of fact, perhaps I should be doing more volunteering in my life too.'”
Considering that the GTA is such a strong magnet for immigrants, it’s not surprising that several of the first 10 volunteer stories featured on Citizens in Action live in the region. One Danforth resident brings art to her local alleyways, while another Torontonian is a leader at an English-as-a-second-language café. A Mississauga resident volunteers at a soup kitchen. Though these stories are exemplary, Duerden says the website welcomes people across the country to share their own stories in words and video, giving the website a much longer life as a resource and source of inspiration.
The institute works with a lot of new Canadians; more than 150,000 have signed up for its cultural access pass, which provides complimentary admission to more than 1,000 of cultural attractions across the country. Talking to its members, the institute realized that there are some common themes about how newcomers find their way to volunteering.
“A lot of people start by volunteering within their respective communities, their friends and families and the people they know,” says Duerden. “But once they started to build their networks, they looked elsewhere. A majority of the new citizens that we interviewed specifically sought out volunteer initiatives that would help them expand their skills, introduce them to Canadian culture and simply meet new people.”
Writer: Paul Gallant
Source: Jess Duerden