Saying goodbye is never easy, so it's with a tinge of sadness that we bid farewell to our summer student Alex Tse, who will be returning to her studies at Simon Fraser University this fall. Alex's impact on the agency cannot be overstated: she worked tirelessly to update our Community Services Directory, showed no signs of intimidation as she took over front desk duties, and was the driving force behind our blog this summer, producing no fewer than a dozen insightful and engaging posts. From the sounds of this, her final post, Alex's experience at Volunteer Richmond may have inspired her to choose a career in the non-profit sector. We can only hope, then, that this isn't a "goodbye" so much as a "see you soon."

 

There is something to be said about working every day with people dedicated to giving and giving to others.

I wrote before that there must be thousands of volunteers in Richmond, but now I’ve seen them with my own eyes and have been inspired by their heart. I can’t remember how many times at front desk I’ve heard people say: “I’m a new Canadian immigrant and I want to volunteer.” Our Volunteer Match appointments were fully booked for five weeks straight this summer – that’s an astounding number of people who are looking to take positive social action in our community.

The staff on the other side of the desk are no less exceptional. We celebrate and encourage volunteerism by facilitating the volunteer job search and by providing volunteer management education. Our Senior Peer Counselling, Grocery Shopping, and Information & Referral services help seniors stay independent. We invest in early development by cultivating nurturing and educational child care programs.

This creates an office culture of feel goodism. The months that I have spent on data entry will enable people to stay connected with local community services. The Communications department is always searching for and producing stories about the volunteers who love our city enough to give back to it. Even if the Richmond Christmas Fund comes with an avalanche of work, we know that the inevitable smiles on people’s faces will be worth it when they receive their holiday toys and grocery hampers.

I go to work with people who do this every day. This is my privilege as a non-profit employee.

 

In an impressive display of her administrative skills, Alex schedules a Volunteer Match interview without even looking at the appointment book.

 

I’m not just advertising Volunteer Richmond as a great place to be employed – I’m encouraging everyone to engage in non-profit work, whether as a volunteer or as a career choice. This is the only line of work where you get back everything that you give.

My Volunteer Richmond work term is ending in September but I’ll always come back to non-profits for these reasons. Richmond is better because we’re here.