WINNIPEG — Volunteers help keep the Spence Street Thrift Shop running. There are more than 50 people who take shifts at the store, which has had a community presence for 29 years.
“Our goal is to keep our prices as low as we can in order to provide people access to things they need at prices they can afford,” explains Tara Glowacki, the Spence Street Thrift Shop co-ordinator.
Whatever money is raised goes to the Pregnancy and Family Support Services centre next door.
That’s one of the reasons Helena Peters has volunteered once a month for the past 20 years at the thrift shop.
“The money goes to a good cause. I don’t need that extra money, so I’d just as well volunteer.”
There’s a lot to co-ordinate when you consider all the volunteers who help. Glowacki has turned to Volunteer Manitoba for support.
“We also go to Volunteer Manitoba for training,” says Glowacki. “They have a library of materials about volunteer management or non-profit work, and I’ve used those as well.”
Volunteer positions at the store are also posted on Volunteer Manitoba’s website.
READ MORE: Women in Leadership Award honours Manitoba volunteers
“It’s nice to have that hub of volunteer postings, because it means that people can go there and find something that really fits their interests.
“Probably most of our volunteers first find us through Volunteer Manitoba.”
Volunteer Manitoba has been around for more than 30 years, supporting organizations that rely on volunteers.
In addition to all the resources and training provided, Volunteer Manitoba honours more than 30 volunteers in 12 different categories who go above and beyond at an annual awards celebration.
“We choose to do this so that volunteering is front and centre of people’s minds,” says Noreen Mian, executive director of Volunteer Manitoba.
One in two people aged 15 years and older donate their time, energy and skills to charities and non-profit organizations, according to Statistics Canada. Those volunteer hours are equivalent to more than 1 million full-time jobs.
The way volunteers are getting involved is changing. Long-term commitments of 10 to 20 years are becoming rare.
“We see people project-hopping. We see young people moving around a lot to get different experience to gain different skills, to network,” Mian said.
A person’s stage of life has a lot to do with how volunteers help, she said.
READ MORE: Better Winnipeg
“You might have a young person who is volunteering to figure out what their interests are and what their path might be in schooling.
“You have individuals sitting on boards of directors. You have parents volunteering for their children’s daycare boards or coaching sports teams. Then later in life as people retire, they get back into it in a different level. They’re a little bit more involved. They’re doing things on an ongoing basis that they may not have been able to do during their career. So there’s a spectrum of volunteerism that really represents where people are at their life stage.”
As Volunteer Manitoba looks ahead to the 33rd annual Volunteer Awards Dinner on April 13, 2016, the call is out for nominations. The nomination deadline for the summer intake is Aug. 31. That includes the Shaw Media Global News Women in Leadership Award.
Find out more about Volunteer Manitoba and its awards dinner on their website.
Better Winnipeg is a weekly feature that highlights people, events and organizations that make Winnipeg a better place to live. If you have a story idea email us at betterwinnipeg@globalnews.ca
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