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Volunteer Office
Volunteer Sault Ste. Marie a division of United Way SSM and district works closely with community agencies and organizations. Our volunteer base consists of several planning committees including the Volunteer Resource Group, Volunteer Appreciation Dinner, Volunteer Fall Fair, Volunteer Emergency Registry Group, and the Social Development Council (SDC). Within our community Volunteer SSM engages in Community Volunteer Income Tax Program, Community Christmas for Children, Community Assistance Trust, and Leadership Development Services (LDS). Volunteer SSM provides services in recruitment, interviewing and referral of volunteers, publicity and promotion of volunteer needs and special events. Volunteer SSM coordinates, delivers information to our community volunteers and offers services to the agencies they represent. Without the leadership of Volunteer SSM volunteers and agencies would find the tasks time-consuming.
Volunteer Fall Fair
Volunteer Fall Fair planning committee coordinates a fair each year that brings awareness to the community of the programs and services available in our community. An increased number of participants were noticed with the change to the fall season and an increase in new agencies and organizations that had not previously participated in the Volunteer Fall Fair. Evaluations from the participants pointed out to us that the time of year was to their advantage as they were anxious to show the community their new programs. The Volunteer Fall Fair brings together agencies, support groups, service clubs and organizations in one area to exchange ideas with each other and interact with the public.
Volunteer Recruitment & Referral Counsellor
Volunteer organizations require support and assistance to help them to build and sustain a stable infrastructure, to recruit, train, support and recognize the valuable contribution of their volunteers. Without volunteers most organizations would have to close their doors. Our office offers to provide a service to agencies and organizations to recruit volunteers with the support of our local media promoting the requests from the agencies.
Volunteer Algoma web site
The goal of Volunteer Algoma was to provide every non-profit/volunteer agency in Sault Ste. Marie and area with an Internet presence. Volunteer Algoma Project is an interactive web site, which features a Volunteer Opportunities and Community Information Directory. The database had been developed and key information and volunteer opportunities have been posted. The Volunteer Algoma web site carries on today with a volunteer updating the agencies information The site offers our community www.volunteeralgoma.ca
Volunteer Appreciation Dinner & Awards Evening
Each year community volunteers are recognized at the annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner held during National Volunteer Week. The planning committee is responsible for planning the event with the administration assistance of VSSM. The evening highlights are the Volunteer of the Year, Mayors Award, Izetta Hobbs Award Youth Award and Larry Knapp Award.
Volunteer Resource Group Professional Development Sessions
Volunteer Sault Ste. Marie provides professional development sessions through our bi-monthly Volunteer Resource Group sessions. Guest speakers are professionals from the community who share their expertise on various topics with regard to volunteer management issues, leadership development, fund raising, and disability policy issues. We exchange ideas on the professional services available to clients in addiction, credit counselling sessions and offer stress management. The professional developments sessions have shown an increase in participants over the past few years. The undertaking of this task by VSSM brings together organizations in a venue to make connections.
Leadership Development Services (BY REQUEST)
Leadership Development Services (LDS) provides information and tools to assist community leaders in running well managed, effective volunteer organizations in a time of ongoing change. Leadership Development Services promotes continuous community learning through the sharing of knowledge and experience. LDS helps agencies and their boards strategically respond to emerging community needs and trends, and become more effective, efficient and accountable. Using proven materials developed by United Way of Canada, LDS offers Board Governance workshops such as: Board Roles and Responsibilities, Financial Stewardship, and Planning and Evaluation. The professional development opportunities provided by LDS are designed to enhance an organization’s capacity to be a stronger leader, create a stronger organization, and build a stronger community.
Community Assistance Trust
CAT staff is to responsible for co-coordinating the activities of the Community Assistance Trust in helping persons in need with assistance toward the provision of items or services of an emergency or extraordinary nature, which may or may not be available under existing government or community program. CAT is the last resort for the working poor. We are a caring community and with out having programs such as CAT, individuals in need could become more depressed and frustrated trying to find supports.
Community Volunteer Income Tax Program
Revenue Canada Agency celebrated 39 years offering free service in Sault Ste Marie partnering with Volunteer Sault Ste. Marie, Seniors Drop In Centre, and Steelton Drop In Centre. In 2008 the program had 19 preparers trained as volunteers in the Sault Ste. Marie and district ready to prepare basic income tax returns for Seniors, Low Income Earners, Disabled Persons and New Canadians. The service runs from February through to April 30 each year. In 2008 volunteers contributed 1366 hours and prepared 911 Income Tax Returns. Low Income Earners benefit from this service making it manageable to have their returns prepared free of charge.
Community Christmas for Children
A coalition of agencies organizes a Calendar of Events of no cost activities for children through the Christmas break each year. Various businesses and organizations are approached to sponsor an event or feature an activity from their business. The goal of Community Christmas for Children is to brighten and enrich the Christmas holidays for the children and their families to enjoy NO cost activities.
Social Development Council
One of the major accomplishments has been our involvement in the grass-roots volunteer driven “Building an Extraordinary Community” initiative. The Social Development Council is attached to Volunteer Sault Ste. Marie and will act as an Advisory Group to the Community Entity. The value of sharing resources and information will strengthen the ability of social service agencies to provide the best possible care for their clients.
Volunteer Emergency Registry Group
VERG was established in 2006 to act as a co-ordination point for recruitment, orientation and creation of a data base of current community volunteers who are prepared to assist during a declared community disaster. This group will also prepare for the set up of an emergency volunteer centre (upon request from the Emergency Operation Control Team – EOCT) for the matching and referral of volunteers from the established data base; and for the on-site screening, orientation deployment and records keeping of walk-in volunteers.
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