Why Volunteer?

Complete the online volunteer application and then book a 1:1 volunteer advisor meeting through a confirmation email in your inbox. Meanwhile, the application is received by Volunteer Lethbridge and reviewed.

During the meeting, we discuss your application, talk about suggested placements and Volunteer Lethbridge will provide some documents to begin your screening. Once your screening documents are collected, you will be awarded a Volunteer Screening Certification – Level One. From there, you will be considered an ‘active’ volunteer, and we will refer your application to the not for profit agencies that you have chosen.

If you are not ready for the application yet, you can book an advisor meeting first.

There are a few things you can self-evaluate before applying to volunteer:

• The time you are able to commit.  Consider all of the commitments you already have and decide what time you can give as a volunteer. Don’t overextend yourself by taking on too many commitments.
• Choose the volunteer experience that matches your availability.                       You can choose episodic volunteer experiences or long-term volunteer placements – you get to customize how you contribute as a volunteer. Any volunteer experience is valuable –one is not “more” valuable than the other.
• Why are you volunteering?                     Take some time to think about why you are interested in volunteering, so you can set goals accordingly.
• Your skills, experience, interests.       What attributes do you already possess, and what attributes do you wish to learn?
• The placement.                                         Will this placement meet your volunteering goals? Will it align with your unique work style?

That is up to you. Volunteer Lethbridge will support you in gathering these documents, and you can go as quickly or slowly as you like. Typically, gathering the police information check takes the longest – around 5 weeks.

Volunteer Lethbridge only refers volunteers to its member agencies. Of those member agencies, not every agency has volunteer opportunities available at the same point in time, and placement is not guaranteed. Some agencies only accept volunteers seasonally, some opportunities are event-based, and some organizations only accept volunteers who can commit to a one year volunteer commitment. Accepting new volunteers is very specific based on the operational needs of the agency.

Yes. You should choose the Tier Two volunteer experience application – from there, you can choose the specific placement that you would like.

It happens! We suggest that you have a conversation with your supervisor and let them know it’s not working out for you. There might be an opportunity where the agency can suggest a different placement within that agency, or suggest ways to make the volunteer placement more successful – it’s very likely that the agency will do everything possible to make sure you are engaged and fulfilled.

You can ALWAYS touch base with Volunteer Lethbridge, we can help you figure out what wasn’t working and go back to the drawing board to identify other volunteer placements. What we DON’T want you to do is just stop showing up to your shift – so let’s problem solve BEFORE that happens!

Agencies may need to respond to operational needs and ask volunteers to do other volunteer assignments. It’s important that the following considerations are met:
• The new assignment matches your level of police screening
• You are properly trained for the new assignment so you can perform the assignment safely
• It’s your choice to flex your volunteer assignment

Agencies set their own minimum age guidelines and the type of volunteer position is a big factor. Some agencies accept volunteers after age 13 while others set their minimum age requirement at age 16. Volunteers cannot be in a role where they sell lottery tickets, raffle tickets, alcohol or volunteer at a casino or bingo until age 18.

Agencies set their own guidelines around this, but many agencies have the flexibility to schedule volunteers in teams of two, or have volunteer roles that are suitable for families.

Agencies often understand unexpected life events. Please contact your supervisor and let them know as soon as possible about the change in your availability.

If you haven't done so already, apply to become a volunteer.  Once you have a profile on Better Impact log in and go to the 'Hours' tab and submit your hours.

After you have started your volunteer placement, you can remain as an affiliate of Volunteer Lethbridge. This will give you opportunities to:
• Participate in training and education
• Touch base with us on volunteer related questions
• Engage with other agencies for more volunteer opportunities, either through Volunteer Lethbridge or the community

Once you have completed your Volunteer Screening Certification, you have been verified!

You can connect with a volunteer advisor for more details about volunteering and the screening process. Click here to book an appointment.