Open Harbour (Community Volunteers and Committee Leads)

• Background/police check required
• Appropriate for volunteers aged between 18 and 55
• Appropriate for volunteers aged 55 and over
• Family-oriented volunteering

If you are passionate about supporting those in your community, The Open Harbour Refugee Association is looking for volunteers to help with our next refugee settlement. We are looking for a variety of roles based on what you can bring to the table, including committee leads and EAL tutors. If you want to help out in your community, and gain high quality experience, please send a brief description of yourself and how you’d like to help to volunteer@openharbour.ca If any of the roles below sound like something you’d be interested in, or if you think you can help out another way, don’t hesitate to reach out. Open Committees: Employment and Education: Registering children in school or childcare and supports family on any school-related concerns throughout sponsorship; setting up and bringing clients to intake appointment at ISANS and language assessments; organising and managing volunteer EAL tutors (if necessary); helping our sponsorships with job search and career planning, supplementing employment counselling at ISANS or other settlement organisations. Household Donations: Sourcing furniture and household item donations. Keeping a record of both what is needed and what is available; coordinating the set-up of the apartment before our sponsorship arrives or once the lease is signed; dealing with any requests for furniture and household items during sponsorship. Social: Keeps track of community events, encourages members to involve & invite the refugee family in social events; provides neighbourhood & bus orientation to the refugee family; organizes winter clothing & school supply shopping; inquires about religion & finds faith groups & places of worship; helps find recreational activities. Housing: Finding affordable accommodations, coordinating setting up utilities before our sponsorship arrives or once the lease is signed; finding temporary housing if needed; dealing with ongoing housing issues as they arise.