The Sooke Region Volunteer Centre was founded to promote and support volunteerism in the Sooke Region, and to build a community where everyone volunteers.

We:

• promote volunteerism,
• build capacity for effective local volunteering ,
• provide leadership on issues relating to volunteerism, and
• connect people with opportunities to serve.
  

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We meet monthly, and have office hours Tuesday and Thursday from 12:30 – 4:30 p.m.at the Sooke Child, Youth & Family Centre, 6672 Wadams Way , Sooke, B.C. V9Z 0H3. We can also be contacted through coordinator@sookeregionvolunteers.org or by calling 250-642-6364 Ext. 235.

At the Sooke Region Volunteer Centre we are building relationships and collaborations as well as listening to the community so our work provides broad, long term benefits. The two annual Volunteer Fairs we hosted are successful examples of the benefits of bringing non-profit representatives together to showcase their efforts to the public. They are also an opportunity to showcase these organizations and connect individual passions with the community needs.

One of our goals is to create a sustainable social enterprise, an organization that earns its own funds to cover its administration costs and possibly more. We know from consultation with experts in the field of ‘social enterprise’ that it takes 5-7 years for a social enterprise business to begin to make a profit. We’ve been advised to seek grants and donations to get the Volunteer Centre established, and then to develop a social enterprise that aligns with the work of the organization. We welcome your participation.

We have a mailing list of more than 370 individuals and supporters who follow our progress, and we look forward to collaborating with many of the 180+ non-profit clubs, organizations and charities in the region.

Times certainly have changed and volunteering is changing along with it. Gone are the days when people signed up for a 20 or more year stint with one organization. Economics and the Baby Boomer generation factor into these changes along with organized sports, and volunteering to earn credits or beef-up your resume. With a seemingly large number of organizations in our region comes the challenge of filling boards of directors or steering committees, not to mention all the other aspects of ‘doing what they do’. Mind you, some of these are social clubs like bridge or cribbage clubs where most of the work is in the play. Whether they are setting up the tables or making the tea and cookies their members are still volunteers.

The current trend toward project-based, time-limited volunteer opportunities puts a new emphasis on resources and skill development for volunteers. While the average number of hours contributed continues to shrink, the number of volunteers is growing, and with the number of non-profits in our region it makes sense to set up or bring training here, thereby making it more accessible and more affordable.

Volunteering is more than people ‘helping out’, it is an expression of citizenship and community support. We invite you to join us.