Meet Your Volunteer Matches With New Features and Shows

By Lois Tuffin

Already, we see a change in the volunteer landscape as more people step forward to help organizations who have sought new champions for their causes.

Volunteer Paula Greenwood shares her passion for connecting people while talking with a student at Trent University’s Volunteer Expo on Wednesday (Sept. 11). Photo by Genevieve Ramage

Since we launched VolunteerPeterborough.ca last year, an increasing number of people have jumped into working with charities that matter to them. Their enthusiasm has spread to their friends and Volunteer Peterborough continues to make their searches easier.

We felt the same energy at Trent University’s Volunteer Expo on Wednesday as students sought new interactions. At our table, many groups shared their success stories. For instance, PARN’s manager stated that half of her volunteers signed up due to her posting on our website.

Starting this month, we have added extra features to our online presence when non-profits buy certain memberships. For example, volunteer managers can now filter the list of 1,357 registered volunteers by interest and skill. From there, they simply send out messages within the platform to connect with people ready to help.

This saves them hours of time by reaching a targeted group of interested individuals. Sure, you can post to social media but only our site has the perfect audience.

Also, when new jobs get posted, email alerts go out to any volunteer who aligns with its criteria. This is offered to anyone with an enhanced or premium membership. You can get this for $25 a month and get great results.

Non-profits can still register on VolunteerPeterborough.ca without buying in. You can create a profile of your organization, then post opportunities for the best results. Think of us like Indeed where you describe roles you need to fill.

Volunteers will also discover new features when they log in. A list of opportunities that match their skills and interests will await them right in their profiles. That simplifies their ability to discover new postings without searching for them.

For those who prefer in-person connections, we have great news! Volunteer Peterborough invites residents and non-profit groups to attend two new Meet Your Match Volunteer Fairs.

After hosting a wildly successful event in the city, we decided to branch out into Cavan and Selwyn Townships. This pair of event aims to introduce more people to organizations that operate close to home and to open their eyes to how they can make a difference.

The first event takes place at the Bridgenorth Community Hall, 836 Charles Street, from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 18. Next, we head out to the Cavan Community Centre from 3 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 23.

Dozens of organizations have been invited to set up booths to share details about how to get involved in their causes. In both cases, visitors can drop in for free after school, before dinner or after work.

This project is generously funded by Ontario Power Generation (OPG)’s Power for Change Project. Our organization thrives on harnessing the power of individuals to make their communities better, so this is a perfect fit.

We are grateful to have OPG’s support so we can support more organizations who rely on volunteers to run their programs in Lakefield, Bridgenorth, Ennismore, Millbrook, Cavan, Bailieboro, Fraserville, Ida, Mount Pleasant, Springville and anywhere in between.

Any non-profit within the Townships is welcome to buy a booth at either event, which includes dinner. To book one today, email volunteer@volunteerpeterborough.ca.

These fairs build on the momentum created by our 160-plus agencies – with more welcome to join the movement. Watch for additional shows in other locations in 2025.

Thank you to everyone who has signed on as a supporter as we get rolling. It takes a village!

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The Inaugural 'Meet Your Match Volunteer Fair' Saw Roughly 500 People Pair With Over 40 Organizations

Volunteer Peterborough saw roughly 500 people opt to sacrifice their time for the greater good at the inaugural ‘Meet Your Match Volunteer Fair’ at the YMCA of Central East Ontario last Wednesday.

Volunteer Peterborough already has more than 1,000 volunteers and 120 organizations on VolunteerPeterborough.ca. after the Fair. Photo courtesy of Volunteer Peterborough.

The organization is a matchmaking service for prospective volunteers to pair with organizations to suit the former’s needs. It launched its online match-making portal last summer.

At the fair, the 500 volunteers explored and signed up with 41 different groups. There were 65 volunteers signed up with Musicfest, 14 people signed up to attend the Kiwanis Club's next recruitment meeting, the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra filled all the jobs on its wish list and the Turtle Trauma Centre left with three pages of names according to a press release.

From here, the group will participate in Trent University’s Volunteer Fair and is seeking funding to host Meet Your Match events in Peterborough County to assist smaller charities and rural residents.

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Meet Your Match at the Volunteer Fair at the YMCA On May 8

In celebration of National Volunteer Month, the inaugural Meet Your Match Volunteer Fair is being hosted at the YMCA of Central East Ontario on May 8.

Photo courtesy of Volunteer Peterborough.

The event is hosted by Volunteer Peterborough which creates a matchmaking service for organizations to find prospective volunteers that suit each other’s needs, interests and more.

The fair runs from noon to 4 p.m.

The organization and VolunteerPeterborough.ca were established in early September last year. Since then, 985 volunteers and 118 organizations have signed up.

Some organizations that are attending the event are:

• YMCA

• Peterborough ElderDog

• Camp Kawartha

• Victorian Order of Nurses Peterborough Victoria Haliburton (VON PVH)

• Community Care Peterborough

• Peterborough AIDS Resource Network (PARN)

• Circles of Support and Accountability

• YWCA Peterborough Haliburton

• Peterborough Folk Festival

• Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region

• Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre

• United Way Peterborough and District

• New Canadians Centre

• Telecare Distress Centre of Peterborough

• Peterborough Symphony Orchestra

• Canopy Support Services

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peterborough

• Mapleridge Recreation Centre

• Lang Pioneer Village

• YourTV

• YES Shelter for Youth and Families

• Peterborough Humane Society

• PARD Therapeutic Riding

• Peterborough Child & Family Centres

• Fleming College Simulation Centre

• Kawartha World Issues Centre

• Ontario Public Interest Research Group Peterborough

• Peterborough Musicfest

• 4th Line Theatre

• Fowler’s Corners and Lakefield Lions Clubs

• Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC)

• Home Care Workers Co-op and Cooperative Care Alliance

• For Our Grandchildren

• PATH - Peterborough Action for Tiny Homes

• Serenity Lane Animal Sanctuary

• Trent Valley Literacy Association (TVLA)

“Volunteering is also a great way to gain new skills and experiences while impacting your community. Become part of something bigger than yourself by contributing to local and global causes,” as stated in a press release.

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Hometown PTBO: Lois Tuffin Running the Meet Your Match Volunteer Fair at the YMCA On May 8

This week on Hometown PTBO, Pete Dalliday talks with Lois Tuffin about how she came to town, her favourite eats and Volunteer Peterborough's 'Meet Your Match Volunteer Fair' on May 8 at the YMCA from noon to 4 p.m.

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Peterborough Bigs In Need of Big Brothers/Sisters; At Least 60 Children In Program Needing Mentors

Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Peterborough (Peterborough Bigs) are dire need of mentors to join their organization as at least 60 to 70 kids involved in the program are without a mentor.

Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The number of children entering the Bigs program has doubled over the past year according to Brent Shepard, Peterborough Bigs executive director.

“It's an ongoing need,” he explained. “We found that there has been an increase in the number of children requesting to come into our programs and waiting for a mentor.”

Children in the program are entered into a waiting pool and get matched based on what best fits both the mentor and the child.

As a result of the matchmaking system, children can wait from roughly six months to a year before being paired up with a Big.

“Because we want the child's interest to be matched with the volunteer's interest, it can sometimes take longer depending on what volunteers come in,” said Shepard.

Shepard also encouraged potential suitors to join Peterborough Bigs, citing several testimonials from mentors who are getting more than what they bargained for but in a positive way.

“We hear over and over again that someone that wants to mentor with us will come to the program and want to give back to the community,” he explained. “What they always underestimate how powerful of an experience it is for them once they start mentoring. They realize how much impact they make for how little investment they need to make and they'll talk to their friends about how it's a highlight of their month.”

The program allows flexibility for mentors, as they spend, on average, two to four hours a month seeing their ‘little’; however, the time spent can be increased at the request of the ‘big.’

Children in the waiting pool remain active with Peterborough Bigs, with several activities offered.

Activities include sports tickets, event tickets, holiday parties, a children’s camp and more.

Mentors can volunteer online at Peterborough Bigs’s website.

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Volunteer Peterborough Makes Its First Hire of a Program Manager

Volunteer Peterborough had made their first hire in Geneviève Ramage to the position of program manager.

Ramage has a degree in Humanities. Since going live in September, Volunteer Peterborough has signed up almost 70 organizations and more than 350 volunteers. Photo courtesy of Volunteer Peterborough.

Ramage was most recently the Communications Coordinator with GreenUP and worked at the Night Kitchen. Ramage has been a lifelong volunteer in Nogojiwanong/Peterborough, Tkaronto/Toronto and Gurrumbilbarra/Townsville Australia areas.

“With my expertise in building sustainable symbiotic relationships and experience in coordination and communications, I look forward to building more capacity at Volunteer Peterborough,” said Ramage.

“Having an employee to liaise with both member organizations and volunteers will allow Volunteer Peterborough to move forward even more quickly,” explained Lois Tuffin, founder and steering committee chair. “We will be able to recruit more volunteers and pair them up with organizations in need.”

Telecare Peterborough has contributed funds to support this first staff position. They have two mandates: active listening for struggling people and providing opportunities for people to volunteer in their community.

“The Board of Directors was very keen to be part of a group working to increase volunteerism in community,” explained Merrill Graham-Alton, Telecare Peterborough’s coordinator. “Many Telecare volunteers volunteer elsewhere. The opportunity to volunteer in multiple places is very enriching for Telecare’s volunteers.”

Volunteer Peterborough is a matchmaking portal for volunteers and organizations to find each other. Simliar to a dating or employment site, it matches skills and availability with groups’ needs. All of these services are also available in person.

Ramage will work out of the Peterborough Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce offices at 175 George St. N. and can be reached by emailing volunteer@volunteerpeterborough.ca.

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Volunteer Peterborough Launched to Provide Matchmaking Service For Volunteers and Organizations In Peterborough Region

An online portal matchmaking service for volunteers and organizations in Volunteer Peterborough was launched during an announcement at a Volunteer Expo at Trent University on Wednesday morning.

Tuffin was inducted into the Pathway of Fame in last during its 25th annversary under the Cultural/Community Betterment category.Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Volunteer Peterborough has been in production for a year to create partnerships to create the portal and matchmaking service. There are 50 organizations already available with another 50 coming next week with 175 volunteers signed up according to founder Lois Tuffin.

“We could encourage more of the best of Peterborough,” she said. “We could give people and make it easy for them to fall into volunteering and then fall in love with volunteering. That would be a way for us to move our community better.”

The online portal works like a dating or employment site that matches skills and times with groups’ needs with the volunteers. As of Oct. 10, these services will be available in person after an arrangement with the Peterborough Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce.

“Volunteers drive the success of large events,” explained Tuffin. “They also step up in times of crisis. Most of all, volunteers welcome new members into the community and deep in social relationships between people who have lived here their entire lives and those human connections have enriched so many lives. 

Tuffin continues to explain that after the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for volunteers increased which helped spark the conception of Volunteer Peterborough.

People stopped volunteering and organizers shifted so they moved volunteer managers to other roles because they didn't have anything to do,” she explained. “Some of those roles haven't been filled so agencies no longer have as much capacity to manage their volunteers so we're just trying to help them so that they can rebuild that membership and get those teams back up and running.”

The portal has volunteers for both in-person and virtual positions.

More information can be found by emailing info@volunteerpeterborough.ca or calling 705-930-2613.

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Volunteers Sought For Cleanup of 30 Sleeping Cabins For the Unhoused at Former Peterborough Humane Society Site

Peterborough Action for Tiny Homes (PATH) is seeking volunteers on five consecutive Saturdays to clean up the new site for 30 sleeping cabins for the unhoused, announced on Thursday.

Photo courtesy of PATH.

The cleanup is at the former Peterborough Humane Society building on Lansdowne Street East. The first scheduled date is this Saturday with June 24 as the last day. Times have yet to be scheduled for the cleanup dates at this time.

The announcement of the cabins was made on April 25, as Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region (Habitat PKR) has leased the property on a three-year deal to PATH to build the cabins.

The houses are meant to create a transitional living center for individuals in the community who are unhoused. 

The area requires The City of Peterborough to rezone the area as ‘temporary use’ in order to build the cabins. They are expected to be built by 2024.

(FROM LEFT TO RIGHT) TRISH CAMPBELL, PATH CHAIR; SUSAN ZAMBONI, HABITAT PKR CEO, KEITH DALTON, PATH LAND ACQUISITION WORKING GROUP LEAD AND JENN MACDONALD, HABITAT KPR COMMUNICATIONS AND DONOR SERVICES MANAGER. PHOTO BY DAVID TUAN BUI.

The following are all the dates for cleanup:

• May 20

• June 3

• June 10

• June 17

• June 24

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Nominations Open for United Way Peterborough & District's Volunteer Award of Community Distinction

The United Way Peterborough & District is accepting nominations for the annual Scholfield Award of Community Distinction; recognizing a local volunteer who has enacted positive change in the community.

photo courtesy of united way, facebook.

Since 2004, United Way Peterborough & District has celebrated and recognized outstanding volunteer contributions to the City and County of Peterborough through the annual Scholfield Award of Community Distinction. The award was established to recognize an individual or organization who, through their excellent leadership or outstanding contribution has demonstrated the ability to mobilize positive change within our community. 

In 2004, Paul and Ina Scholfield were the first recipients of this award. The Scholfield’s have been long-time philanthropists and community builders– through their generosity and commitment, they lead by example, typifying the spirit of community building.

The 2022 recipients of this award, Jim and Katie Stewart, were chosen for their achievement, commitment and leadership in addressing community needs and issue, the impact of their efforts, their innovative approaches and success in mobilizing members of the community. They were put forth as candidates for this year’s award through an incredibly heartfelt nomination package, that was hand-delivered to the United Way Office by nominator Anne Marshall of Elmhirst’s Resort, containing 12 signed letters of support and further endorsements by 30 community leaders.

“Volunteers are a diverse group of people who create a ripple effect of inspiration and generosity. We are thrilled to honour those who go above and beyond in their contribution to building a strong, diverse and healthy community,” said Jim Russell, United Way Peterborough & District CEO.

The Scholfield Award is open to any resident or organization within the boundaries of the City and County of Peterborough. Nominees are evaluated based on their achievement, commitment and leadership in addressing community needs or issues; the impact of their efforts; their innovative, unique or exemplary approach; and their success in mobilizing members of our community.

Nominations close at 4 p.m. on June 8, and the award will be presented later in the year. Nomination forms can be found online.

For more information, visit the website.

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