With National Volunteer Week 2025 taking place from April 27 to May 3, it’s the perfect time to recognize the volunteers across Canada and throughout the region, who kindly dedicate their time in not only strengthening, but supporting their communities.
This year, Volunteer Canada has dubbed the theme of the week as “Volunteers Make Waves.” It’s a reminder that each individual volunteer contribution, big or small, creates momentum and inspires others to make a positive change.
Kari Astles, president of Brant Regional Association of Volunteer Administrators (BRAVA), said that as far as she was concerned, volunteers are the fabric of the community.
“Whether it’s because of something like the pandemic, a general lack of volunteers, or whatever the reason may be, when volunteer programs aren’t happening, the impact is definitely felt across the community because those programs are really essential,” she said. “Take sports organizations for example, in most cases, the organization itself is run by a board of volunteers who then run volunteer programs; without that support, those sports organizations don’t exist. It’s the same with a lot of the faith groups and churches, the programs that they do, don’t exist without volunteering. In some cases volunteers are in addition to and in support of, staff run programs and organizations, so in the absence of volunteers, those programs may exist, but they don’t exist at the same level and support for the clientele as they do with that added bonus of volunteers.”
BRAVA is a membership-based organization that’s been supporting and promoting volunteerism across Brantford and the County of Brant since 1988. It brings together various representatives of community agencies that both support, and rely on volunteerism. Those involved with the organization include people from health care, arts and culture, education, social services and faith-based services. On top of that, BRAVA also hosts a number of educational workshops, volunteer fairs and special recognition events throughout the year.
In short, BRAVA helps volunteer program leaders succeed in engaging, recruiting, and leading a group of volunteers.
“Networking, sharing best practices, and supporting volunteer engagement in the community, as a whole, is what the organization is all about,” said Astles.
As someone whose job is to engage and lead volunteers, specifically within the Brant Community Healthcare System (BCHS), Astles said that it’s not about just filling roles for the sake of getting the work done, it’s about connecting volunteers with work that is meaningful to them.
“It’s not about just having a warm body in a role so you can say ‘I filled the volunteer role.’ It’s about making sure that what you’re doing is engaging that individual by matching their skills, experience, talents and interests, so that it benefits both the community, the volunteer and the agency that they’re volunteering with,” she said. “It’s not just about making sure that you have X number of individuals, but making sure that you have the right people in the right places.
We have to keep in mind that volunteers are there because they choose to be, and it’s really a form of philanthropy. These individuals may not be giving with their finances necessarily, but they’re giving a finite resource of their time and so we need to respect that and make sure that we’re engaging them in the best way possible.”
Astles added that by being part of BRAVA, it allows leaders of volunteer programs like herself, to connect with others in similar roles and learn from each other.
“I’ve been in volunteer engagement for 27 years now, it’s the only thing that I’ve ever done since I graduated from university and so I’m really passionate about supporting others in the field whether they’re new to this, or if they’ve been engaging volunteers for years,” she said. “Mentorship and networking are really important to me as a professional in this field, and that’s why I think it’s so important to get involved in organizations like BRAVA; many of us that work in volunteer engagement are working in organizations where we are the only leader of volunteers in that organization, and so having others to bounce ideas off of, learn from and share with, is a really great support and is key to making sure that all the volunteers across the community are supported.”
She said that as the world of volunteering has changed over the years, organizations are having to adjust and find different ways to engage and interact with potential volunteers.
“Gone are the days where someone would volunteer four days a week in the same department, on the same days and at the same times for 30 years. That just doesn’t exist anymore. As organizations, we have to engage with new volunteers differently,” said Astles. “Often, they’re not just thinking about how the agency or organization will benefit, but also what they might learn or take away from that experience themselves. They’re also looking for flexibility, whether that means picking up volunteer shifts or helping out occasionally with special events.”
As an example of how organizations have had to pivot, Astles said that one of the things BCHS did during COVID-19, was launch a new volunteer database at the hospital.
“It’s an online system that allows volunteers to see what shifts are available that week and sign up for those shifts online,” she said. “It’s nice because we can have some of those consistent, regular volunteers that are coming in, but then there’s also the technology that supports being able to pick up shifts as it’s convenient for you as a volunteer. So some agencies are moving towards that kind of a model, and some, like us, are hybrid, depending on the volunteer role and our ability to be flexible.”
On top of all of what BRAVA does for agencies, there’s also a link on its website to help connect people with specific volunteer opportunities in the community, as well as different agencies looking for volunteers.
Astles said that for those organizations or agencies that frequently engage with volunteers, and are not already part of BRAVA, she encourages them to check out the website and reach out.
“If they’re interested in joining BRAVA to get some of that networking and professional development connection, they should definitely check out our website. Our membership application and everything is on there,” she said. “Also, if anybody is engaging volunteers, and is not part of BRAVA, but still wants to set up a table at our volunteer fair that’s coming up on Saturday, May 3, tables for non-member agencies are $20. If they sign up for the volunteer fair and they decide within the month of May to become a member of BRAVA, that $20 goes right towards their membership and it will only cost them another $30 to have a membership for the full year.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
