SHRC presentation (Roya Rabbani) Diversify the Source, Enhance the Force Building stronger civil society by promoting voluntarism, and public participation of New Canadians The sponsoring agency: Self-help Resource Centre In partnership with: settlement, health, employment, volunteer and community-based organizations in Toronto and across Ontario Funded by: The Ontario Trillium Foundation DSEF

SHRC presentation (Roya Rabbani) Diversify the Source, Enhance the Force Facts Charitable organizations have lost over one million volunteers; New Canadians are twice as likely not to volunteer as other Canadians; Volunteering provides the necessary skills and experiences to enter the paid work force; Lack of ability to find a place to volunteer, lack of training and support, language barriers, lack of familiarity with what volunteering means and stereotyping are among the barriers facing new Canadians; Lack of funding, lack of resources, lack of familiarity with recruitment and training model for this population are among the barriers facing organizations when providing volunteer opportunities to new Canadians; Sources; National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating, 2001 DSEF Consultation sessions, focus groups and survey results DSEF

SHRC presentation (Roya Rabbani) Diversify the Source, Enhance the Force What is DSEF? It is a one year pilot project funded by The Ontario Trillium Foundation; It is implemented by The Self-Help Resource Centre in partnership with community organizations; The goal of the project is to establish a model which will encourage and facilitate the participation of new Canadians in volunteer activities of the Canadian civil society; The objectives of the project are to provide support to the organizations which desire to diversify their volunteer forces, to recruit and train the new Canadians based on the needs of the organizations, to provide ongoing support to New Canadians who wish to volunteer and the organizations through training and resource materials; DSEF

SHRC presentation (Roya Rabbani) Diversify the Source, Enhance the Force What Does DSEF Do? It identifies the agencies which can be the source of new Canadian recruitment, namely the settlement agencies, and promote voluntarism to their clients; It identifies and assesses the volunteer needs of the agencies which can host new Canadians as volunteers; It builds partnership between settlement agencies and the organizations which are looking for diverse volunteers; It raises awareness and provides training and support to various organizations around recruitment, training and maintenance of this group of volunteers; It utilizes the knowledge and experience of peers to train and support the new Canadians while they volunteer in various organizations; It researches the trends and issues around immigration, settlement, employment and volunteering in order to provide an effective program delivery model; DSEF

SHRC presentation (Roya Rabbani) Diversify the Source, Enhance the Force How Does DSEF do it? Project staff consult with the agencies to identify their volunteer needs which can be addressed by new Canadians and promote the benefits of using new Canadians as volunteers; Project staff match the volunteer placement needs with skillful volunteers recruited through settlement agencies and ESL classes; Project staff recruit and train peer-facilitators (new Canadians who have experience volunteering in Canada) to maintain 13-week peer-support groups; 13-week peer-support groups will ensure appropriate and tailored training for these volunteers and will discuss their problems and issues to ensure effective and sustainable volunteer placement; These peer-support groups are essential to the viability and sustainability of the project. These groups provide the participants with opportunities to share their experiences and discuss the issues identified by the agencies and participants; DSEF

SHRC presentation (Roya Rabbani) Diversify the Source, Enhance the Force How would we know if it works? With funding from the Trillium Foundation, since July 2001 DSEF has been able to recruit more than 20 partner agencies in Toronto, Hamilton, Sudbury and London; Among these agencies are community centres, skill training organizations, resource centres, community health organizations, mental health organizations, health agencies such as The Canadian Red Cross, cultural institutions volunteer centres and, social planning councils; The project has delivered three training sessions across the province to nearly 50 peer-facilitators who will run peer support groups for the volunteers; The project has 10 pilot sites as placement for new Canadian volunteers; The project is running 12 peer-support groups, 6 in Toronto, 3 in Hamilton, 2 in Sudbury and 1 in London; The project has developed a draft training manual, and two issues of a project bulletin; Process recording, participatory evaluation, an online survey and tracking system ensure ongoing input to the project by the stakeholders; DSEF

SHRC presentation (Roya Rabbani) Diversify the Source, Enhance the Force DSEF What are the benefits? For new Canadians  Opportunity to integrate and feel sense of belonging;  Opportunity to feel part of the community;  Opportunity to learn about “Canadian Way”  Opportunity to share their culture  Opportunity to gain “Canadian Experience”  Opportunity to feel confident when seeking a job  Opportunity to form a network of support;  with a special placement opportunity, it can be a step in accreditation for the professional newcomers For the Canadian communities  F acilitates the participation of new Canadians in the life of the organizations in a meaningful way. Therefore, creating a sense of contribution to and participation in the civil society;  It prevents secondary migration to big cities by creating a social network, prospect of job security, and sense of belonging  It creates social cohesion across the communities;  It helps the settlement process by creating a sense of purpose and contribution;  It creates a sense of belonging and ownership in the community; For the organizations  Diverse source of volunteers;  Opportunity to investigate different approaches;  Additional sources of input;  Opportunity to start new projects;  Support provided to organizations with no volunteer management budget;  T raining support designed to create and maintain work place diversity;

SHRC presentation (Roya Rabbani) Diversify the Source, Enhance the Force What Is in the Future for DSEF? The Funding comes to an end in July; We have already discussed the sustainability plan with the partners; We have seen a tremendous amount of success, support and need for continuation; We have a plan in mind and we need financial support for different components of it; We believe that the plan is designed to address a missing piece in the settlement process of new Canadians; We believe this project will also address the increasing needs of the civil society organizations for volunteers; We are convinced that our plan can address a variety of problems faced by new Canadians, who are a substantial percentage of Ontarians ; DSEF

SHRC presentation (Roya Rabbani) Diversify the Source, Enhance the Force Phase II Frame Work For Participation Brokerage Training Implementation Consultation & Feasibility assessment Research & Evaluation Sustainability Planning Developing partners’ roles & Responsibilities Identifying the key players Building partnership Building trust/advocating internally Initiating partnership tasks Collaborating with for-profit organizations Finding professional placements Researching legal issues Developing sample volunteer projects Developing sample job descriptions Professional accreditation possibilities Marketing & promoting the project Assisting organizations in assessing their volunteer needs Refining projects to meet needs Developing marketing strategy Consulting with communities Identifying criteria for involvement Identifying potential partners Identifying criteria for placement Assessment of placements Researching materials Refining the tools with partners Developing a manual Briefing partners Organizing sessions Building teams Training peer Facilitators Developing a peer network Evaluating the training Ongoing trouble shooting Cultural and racial unity training Customized manuals Marketing the project locally New Comers Recruitment Connecting to the points of entries Running the groups Local logistics Local sustainability planning Local marketing Developing placements How it works Where it works When it works Why it works Scope & type of methods settlement policies Health and well being Social cohesion Local Scope/broader scope Renewed partnership building Corporate funding Ongoing grants Ongoing partnership building Ongoing planning, e.g. goals, objective, roles, responsibilities,.. Small scale fundraising Local, Provincial, National DSEF

SHRC presentation (Roya Rabbani) Diversify the Source, Enhance the Force Become a part of it By supporting it financially; Decide what part of the sustainability plan fits your mandate. The sustainability plan is an integrated and incremental model. However, each section has its own measurable goals and objectives with defined outcomes. Let us know your mandate and funding requirements, we will submit accordingly. By becoming a partner in its implementation; Currently 10 organizations have committed themselves to the implementation of the pilot project. They are committed to continue and many more are interested in becoming a partner. For more information Contact DSEF By volunteering your time and expertise; If you are a new Canadian recently entering Canada, if you are more experienced new comer, if you wish to volunteer for a project which exposes you to various cultures and interesting experiences, if you believe that sharing experiences enriches everyone’s life, contact DSEF and become a part of our team. DSEF