Canada Connects program introduces newcomers who have arrived as refugees to a volunteer – a friend who is well-established in the Calgary community. This program strengthens newcomer integration by providing volunteers with the knowledge, resources, and support they need to meaningfully assist families as they build their lives in Canada.
Canada Connects volunteers play a crucial role in making newcomers feel welcomed in their new community by spending time together, teaching Canadian culture and norms, discussing various aspects of life in Calgary, making new connections in the community, and practicing English informally.
Volunteers in Canada Connects are carefully matched with newcomers based on common interests, professions, location, and other factors to ensure a supportive and meaningful connection. The match is then supervised by a Canada Connect staff member who will guide the volunteer and assist the family in helping establish a successful and fulfilling relationship.
As a Canada Connects Volunteer, you will become a guide to life in your community and our city at large. It is an exciting chance for you or your whole family to meet new people and see your own community from a unique perspective. We kindly ask for your time, spending a minimum of four hours a month with your partner for a period of four months to a year depending on what your availability looks like offering:
Canada Connects volunteers can be anyone who has desire to get involved, is over the age of 18, and has a clean police record. Our volunteers come from various backgrounds as individuals, couples, families, students, and working or retired folks.
They are a wide variety of people from all walks of life, and from everywhere in the world. Some choose to leave their homeland in hopes of a better future. Others are forced to abandon their home because of war, economic or natural disasters, or political or religious persecution.
Becoming a Canada Connects volunteer will give you opportunities for professional developmental and experiences where you will gain the chance to enhance your knowledge and practice of:
It will also provide you with opportunities to:
Calgary Office | Phone: 403-400-0364 | Email: [email protected]
This has by far been the most rewarding volunteer program I have ever been a part of in my life. The family I volunteer with has become like a second family to me. They have enhanced my life as much as I have enhanced theirs.
Giving back to the community has always been my passion. The CCIS program of Canada Connects is therefore an important tool through which my passion becomes more practical. The program structure that included training, and supportive staff, makes the experience of volunteering more enjoyable.
