TOGETHER WE CAN!
Our Community Behind the Scenes
with The Ontario Volunteer Centre Network (OVCN)
Volunteer Markham proudly represents York Region on the OVCN. We join our Volunteer Centre partners across Ontario as seen here to build a stronger, caring community through volunteerism. This past Thanksgiving, we worked together in publishing a co-authored, open letter to acknowledge the essential and ongoing contributions of volunteer managers and our province’s 5.08 million volunteers. Read excerpts from this letter below:
“The reality is that the pandemic has impacted the volunteer infrastructure in Ontario. To recover from COVID-19, we need to invest in people. Ontario volunteers contribute $2.07B to Canada’s GDP as volunteerism plays a critical role in delivering essential programs, building personal opportunity (skills and employment) and fostering inclusion”
“You may be surprised to know that 1 in 2 organizations have laid-off or permanently re-deployed their volunteer leaders. This trend has significantly disrupted volunteer engagement across Ontario as volunteer demand outstrips the supply of available positions.”
“Over the past 18 months OVCN members have build connections with 4,300 nonprofits and 3.3 million volunteer seekers from every demographic and we’re here to work with community partners and the provincial government to ensure we harness the Ontario Spirit as we #BuildBackBetter because every Ontarian benefits from the contribution of volunteers.”
Across Ontario and on behalf of Volunteer Markham and the OVCN, we are grateful for: Ontario’s 5.08 million volunteers. We are here for you! #VolunteerYorkRegion #VolunteerMarkham #VolunteerCentres #StrongerTogether #BuildBackBetter