Mission

Engaging a community that volunteers

Vision

The community of Kamloops is strengthened through our promotion of the many values and benefits of volunteering, and our support in the form of volunteer recruitment and referral as well as resources, tools and learning opportunities to develop effective volunteer programs. 

Most recent Annual Meeting minutes, Executive Director's report 

History and Activities

Since 1985, Volunteer Kamloops has provided volunteer recruitment and referral services for our members, who could be any group undertaking a volunteer project in the community. We are a Registered Charity (132712670RR0001) and a BC Society with our own voluntary Board of Directors. We take as our terms of reference the basic Volunteer Centre roles outlined by Volunteer BC:

•  Connecting people with opportunities to serve 
•  Promoting and recognizing volunteerism
•  Building capacity for effective local volunteering
•  Providing leadership on issues relating to volunteerism

  We currently provide three main programs in addition to the basic operation as a volunteer centre:  

  1. Volunteer LINK provides member agencies with volunteer recruitment and referral
  2. FOCUS Through Volunteering assists individuals identifying mental health concerns to be successful in volunteering; and the Culturally Welcoming Volunteer Program supports organizations in their efforts to engage new immigrants as volunteers.
  3. Culturally Welcoming Volunteer Programs - a one-year project funded by Volunteer BC, designed to assist and encourage agencies to be more inclusive of immigrant participation as volunteers, to integrate them into the community and offer experience opportunities that might improve their prospects for employment.

  We promote volunteer opportunities through

  • newly updated website with community event calendar
  • weekly advertising of volunteer requests
  • listing of new requests distributed around the community
  • inclusion in Welcome Wagon packages for new community members
  • community volunteer fairs 
  • media articles and interviews
  • by direct contact and referral of the hundreds of individuals who call or drop in to our office through the year. 

  A key annual event is  National Volunteer Week annually during the third week of April. 

  Through training and networking opportunities, we support the efforts of organizations to provide high quality volunteer programs and opportunities. Our staff members convene and participate on community committees and collaborations to achieve shared needs or address issues that affect voluntary agencies.  We advocate on behalf of volunteers and the value of voluntary service in all aspects of our work.