|
September 7, 2001
Shalom BC volunteer centre
Shalom to volunteers
New centre will link agencies with willing workers.
PAT JOHNSON REPORTER
In what is being heralded as another important step in community-building,
an initiative under the auspices of Shalom B.C. will match volunteers
with agencies that need their expertise.
The Shalom B.C. Volunteer Centre is a simple idea, but organizers
and agencies that stand to benefit from it say it could revolutionize
the Jewish nonprofit sector in this province.
Debby Koffman, who began this week as the centre's director, said
community agencies sometimes have trouble finding volunteers with
specific skills. Instead of scrambling to conscript the friend of
a friend, they will now be able to approach the volunteer centre,
which will search its computer database for someone with the necessary
skills who has already expressed a willingness to donate their time.
Koffman said she expects to be able to make perfect matches, meaning
that volunteers will have their assets used to their fullest potential
while agencies will see an immediate benefit, without having to
waste time scouring for people.
With the database, she added, people will have the opportunity
to survey the immense variety of positions.
"Sometimes people might not be aware of all the wonderful
things available in the community," she said.
Not only will the volunteer centre help match volunteers with agencies,
Koffman said, but it will also prevent duplication of efforts. If
one agency is planning a project similar to another, Koffman and
her volunteers will be able to match them up with each other before
either side dedicates their resources.
The idea originated from a collaboration between the National Council
of ewish Women, which had operated a volunteer centre for seniors,
and the ewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, which was considering
starting a community-wide volunteer centre. Janet Kolof, who has
been
n on planning the centre from the very beginning, undertook a
easibility study two years ago, in which she determined that 94
per cent of ocal agencies would like to see such a centre created.
She is pleased to see her work bearing fruit. On Sept. 10, the
first volunteers will be on site at the centre, collecting applications
from other volunteers and requests from agencies for help.
"We're really excited to be part of a new program of Shalom
B.C.," said Kolof.
The initiative will be launched very publicly during High Holy
Days services. Organizers have enlisted the help of all area rabbis,
who are expected to introduce the concept of the volunteer centre
from the pulpit during services.
Reisa Schwartzman, co-chair of the board of Talmud Torah school,
said her institution and the community at large is destined to benefit
from the new centre.
"Talmud Torah has a wide [volunteer] base in itself,"
she said. "But there are times when you don't necessarily have
the base that you need."
She is looking forward to being able to contact the centre with
specific requests, such as arts and crafts experts.
Lynne Fader, administrator of Richmond's Kehila Society, has similar
hopes.
"All our programs and everything we do is all based on volunteer
manpower," she said. Relieved of the constant struggle to find
helpers, Fader expects to be able to make better use of her time.
"It just makes our job so much easier to find the staffing
to start new programs," she said. "It lets me be able
to concentrate on programs."
The concept of a volunteer centre for the Jewish community is not
unique. There are similar institutions in Montreal, Toronto and
Winnipeg, which local organizers turned to for guidance. Kolof and
her crew also spoke with volunteer centres in Boston, Florida, San
Francisco and Minneapolis.
Organizers view the development of the centre in Vancouver as symptomatic
of growing community team spirit here. Under the leadership of Federation
and other Jewish agencies, there has been a large amount of co-operation
in the Lower Mainland Jewish community in recent years. Groups that
had, in the past, worked independently are teaming up to work together.
Funding for the initiative is another example of that sort of co-operation.
Allocations that will see the centre through its first year of operations
came from Federation, the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver,
the National Council of Jewish Women, Jewish Women International,
B.C. Chapter, and B'nai B'rith Lion's Gate Lodge #668.
For more information, call Shalom B.C. at 604-257-5111. The Web
site www.shalombc.org
provides an opportunity for both volunteers and agencies to register
for the new program.
^TOP
|
