Volunteer Peterborough aims to boost volunteer numbers impacted by pandemic – Peterborough | Globalnews.ca
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A new organization in Peterborough is helping to recruit volunteers for groups still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Wednesday, the newly formed Volunteer Peterborough held a volunteer expo at Trent University to “reinvigorate” the volunteer sector in the region, organizer Lois Tuffin says.
Among the organizations at the expo were the Riverview Park and Zoo, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Also on Wednesday, Volunteer Peterborough announced its new website, which will be the primary way to connect volunteers and organizations.
“So our site was built like a match-making site,” Tuffin said. “We ask people what they are passionate about, how many hours they have and how many skills they have so they can filter and match. Then they can quickly contact each other through the website. We have made it effortless for people to make those connections.”
Tuffin says the pandemic saw a drop in volunteers at organizations and highlighted a need.
“It’s really important for community connections,” she said. “People land here whether you are a recent retiree to Peterborough or you are a new student. You land in the city and you don’t know people, you don’t have the context as to who does what. So therefore it’s really helpful to have a guide that you can search on your own time and your own terms.”
One longtime volunteer, Marty Lamoureux, says he’s found extra time to help since retirement.
“Once I retired I wanted to make sure I could volunteer — it has always been a long-term goal to volunteer at Habitat (for Humanity),” he said. “So I have been volunteering for over five years now. I also do the kitchen salvages, which I believe are up to about 70 now, and I work at the ReStore at least once a week.”
Tuffin says 175 people have already signed up as potential volunteers.
“We are hearing from people who moved here during COVID and have been lost,” Tuffin said. “They didn’t know where to start. And for them to suddenly have a resource to go to and say, ‘Oh, neat,’ and then they found somebody,” she said. “(Lamoureux) is volunteering every week now and it is so exciting to see the joy.”
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