Showing posts with label youth volunteer opportunities. Show all posts
VANITY Blog is looking for Executive Board Members!
We are currently looking for talented immigrant youth and refugee youth to join our team! If you want to get invovled in your community, this is an awesome opportunity to make a difference! The full posting is below. If you have any questions, e-mail us at vanimmigrantyouthblog@gmail.com
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Organization: Vancouver Immigrant Youth (VANITY) Blog
Mission Statement:
We use the stories and experiences of immigrant
and refugee youth in Vancouver to inspire other young people who just newly
arrived in Canada. We help newcomer youth through three main ways: maintaining
a blog website for newcomer youth, organizing events for youth immigrants, and
interacting with youth immigrants through social media.
Position Description:
As an executive board member of VANITY blog, you
will be a part of a group who will be chiefly responsible in developing,
managing, and improving our blog website. You will be constantly working with
other 6-8 students to guarantee that our blog site remains appealing to young
audiences, make sure that each blog post published is exciting to read, and see
to it that our site becomes known by numerous students who are just starting to
settle in their new lives here in Canada. This could involve having a group
meeting once a month, holding weekly Skype and Facebook conversations to update
each other, and having an exclusive access to our blog account.
Aside from being a blog site, VANITY Blog is
also known for building communities through conducting workshops, organizing
events, and reaching out to youth through our social media channels.
So if you are a refugee, immigrant, and/or a
newcomer youth, DO NOT HESITATE TO APPLY TO BE A PART OF OUR EXECUTIVE BOARD!
Currently we are looking for people for the following positions:
·
Event Management Officers (Openings: 3)
·
Social Media Managers (Openings: 2)
·
School Ambassadors (Openings: 4)
·
Media Director (Opening: 1)
General Qualifications*
·
Refugee, immigrant, or newcomer youth (15-24
years old)
·
comfortable
in sharing his/her migration experience
·
passionate about inspiring other youth
·
Can balance studies and extra-curricular
activities
·
interested
in using social media as a tool to promote diversity
·
love for writing (whether in English or in your
own language!)
*These are just general qualifications. Specific positions require
different respective qualifications. Please go to http://bit.ly/vanityblogpositions to check
out the available positions and the position-specific requirements.
Benefits and Recognition
·
Valuable learning experience
·
Skill building: team collaboration, networking,
project management, etc.
·
Opportunity to meet new friends
·
Reference letters
·
Free tickets to youth events in Vancouver
Approximate Position Start
Date
September 25, 2015
Position Duration
10 months (September 2015 to June 2016)
Time Commitment
· *3-6
hours per week (flexible hours, most of this involves working online through
e-mail or Skype)
· *able
to attend meetings for two hours once every month!
To apply, please go to: http://bit.ly/vanityblogapply
The Cure to School Envy
"Once again, school begins."
From the news to shoe sales to blog magazine themes, this
message is plastered in nearly every corner of the city like a slap to my face whenever a new school year is just about to start.
Surely, everybody's Facebook News Feeds and Twitter is flooded with reactions
towards the annual phenomena.
Every year, there are always students who can't wait to back to school. On the other hand, there are also those who are groaning at prospect of
homework and classes. If only they knew how much I envy them all...
I, like many other immigrants in their late teens, will not
be part of the student population this term. We all have different reasons, of
course, and it ranges from personal choice to no choice at all. Wherever we are
on the spectrum, we all face the same problem: what are we supposed to do with
all that free time?
Fortunately, Vancouver has countless to offer to those of us
who are looking for something to do and they fall under two categories:
If you can't go to school, go to work.
Getting a job is easier than you might think. I should know
because for someone with unimpressive credentials, I managed to scrounge an honest work in an
office. The trick is to ask for some guidance.
Besides your parents and friends, you can reach out to
immigration centres such as the ISS of BC and SUCCESS which offer aid for any immigrant-- even us youth!--
who are looking for employment. Some of the help they provide us include
narrowing our job search, teaching us how to write awesome resumes, and giving
us tips on how not to suck at interviews.
Although getting work will take a lot of hard work and
patience, it is completely worth it. Not only would we get cash, we would also
up our work credentials this early in the game of employment. We may not get
our ideal jobs at first try but we can expect to have a better one in the
future with our gained Canadian experience to work in our favour. And have I
already mentioned cash?
If you don't have homework, have a hobby.
What hobby? Any hobby. Absolutely anything that interests
you. If you can think it, count that Vancouver has a group or club for it.
A budding artist? Join the Vancouver Urban Sketchers!
They pick a place in the city and sketch whatever they see. Amateurs are
welcome.
If writing is more your thing, I heard some good stuff about Pandora's Collective. Fancy name, I know.
They host at least three monthly events in
Vancouver like the Twisted Poets Literary Salon and Word Whips.
If you're the type who wants to better the world one small
step at a time, have a shot at volunteering. Now that school has dragged
students back to their classrooms, organizations will be looking for volunteers
to fill the spots many students have left. I found my volunteering opportunity
at VancouverYouth.ca. The website is not only filled with volunteer postings
but event announcements as well. Speaking of, VANITY also has monthly posts
about upcoming events that you might want to check out.
Being a scrawny kid, I myself am looking to add some meat in
my bones what with winter fast approaching. I decided to enrol in Tai Chi
classes and take a fitness membership offered in one of the many community
centres in the city. Each local community centre provides workshops and classes
ranging from martial arts to gardening. You check out the programs available to
you at Vancouver.ca.
***
Getting a job or a hobby, whichever you choose (or if you plan to do both), it is important to understand what they have in common: both require you to step out of the comfort of your homes and reach out to what you want. This new world may seem scary but we cannot let it freeze us from living our lives. Let us get out there and show the world that we may not be in school yet, but that doesn't mean we can't.
- M.R.
What's Up, Vancouver? (September 2014)
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| Photo courtesy of: Scooter Lowrimore |
Playland
Still open Friday to Sunday until September 21, 2014
2014 Vancouver Fringe Festival
September 4-14, 2014
Youth Volunteer Recruitment Day at South Vancouver Neighbourhood House
September 4, 2014
Arts in the Park (Richmond) 2014
September 7, 2014
The Long, Long Table: A Community Affair
September 9, 2014
The Color Run Vancouver
September 13, 2014
Wesbrook Village Festival 2014
September 20, 2014
The Amazing Y: Cross-City Scavenger Hunt
September 20, 2014
RiverFest 2014
September 21-27, 2014
MetamorFest 2014
September 27, 2014
The Art Of Leadership Conference
September 30, 2014
The Transition From Air-Conditioners to Heaters: A Productive Ramble.
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| Christopher John SSF |
I like change just as much as I like uncomfortable situations, which is to say, a lot. There’s something about the novelty, that extra rush of adrenaline triggering my lizard, that makes me want to seek it out and bathe in its sweat-inducing, blood-pumping, knee-jerking effect. I become the change physically, mentally, and spiritually. Or maybe I’m just an adrenaline junkie who drinks too much coffee, that’s much more probable.
I’ve been in Canada for a bit more than a year now, and alas, I’ve fallen into a monotonous routine birthed by school and my ever-persistent aversion to homework. Albeit, my methods of procrastination may not be the most conventional for a teenager. I prefer books to the internet (Twitter and Tumblr are too complex for my simple minded self). I suppose at first, it was just my utter loneliness that drove me to take a shot at finding companionship in books. Soon, it turned into an addiction where I could hardly pull myself away from this fictional world of metaphors and similes. I’m trying to find a balance, now that I actually have some friends.
It’s challenging, making friends in a country that has a culture vastly different than what I’ve known all my life (there’s quite a disparity between watching American T.V and living it). Now, people that know me will attest to the fact that I’m an extrovert that finds pleasure in attention and random conversations with strangers on the skytrain, but I was conflicted; I wanted to “be myself”, but High School turned out to be a runway where “myself” wasn’t good enough. I went through a black clothes, head down, loner phase that I’m in all honesty, rather embarrassed about. I’m not insinuating that people that wear black clothes and don’t have much in the way of company should be embarrassed about it, just that I wasn’t a person that could be satisfied that way. In my defence, it was because I missed India. I missed being semi-popular, and I achingly missed my best friends, (let’s call them Z, P and D for the purpose of this text). Being invisible seemed like a better option than attempting to fit in, with my barely understandable accent (pfft Canadians can’t even pronounce my name right), my accidental use of British English (people look at me weird when I say ‘dustbin’ instead of the Canadian-accepted ‘garbage can’), and a somewhat jet-lagged brain. I also don’t get my fashion sense until the start of my Grade 12 year, though admittedly the few outfits that turned out well were probably those that I ‘borrowed’ from my elder sister.
I’d enter a mall, get assaulted by the sudden, comforting warmth and remember, for the tenth time that day, that I’m in Canada where Heaters beat Air-Conditioners, even in the summers (though disappointingly, I haven’t met an actual Eskimo that lives in an igloo yet). I missed Mumbai’s salty, humid air that had a lingering scent of spices, and more often than not, urine.
But other than these moments where depression and longing would hit me faster than I could say ‘kutta’, I was happy. Living the dream, even! The roads were well-paved and the buildings didn’t have paan stains on every wall. I was surrounded to the point of being swamped by people of all races, from far away countries that spoke a multitude of languages. It was different, fascinating. Vancouver happens to be one of the many multicultural cities where I didn’t stand out like a sore thumb but I was still an individual with a valuable story. So I embarked upon a perilous journey, fraught with dangers of the unknown, personal demons and skeletons in closets. A generally non-judgemental folk (not necessarily including High Schoolers here), allowed me to experiment with clubs, volunteer organisations like Leave Out Violence (LOVE), subjects I liked, and an education system wherein my future did not depend upon the much dreaded End of The Year Final Exams. I explored this new land, while at the same time delving into the depths of my mind, my thoughts about religion and spirituality, my sexuality (I could be something other than heterosexual and that would be okay? Mind blown!), my passion for history, psychology, sociology, and other social sciences, and my music (I went to my first live concert!).
I found ways to express myself positively to the people around me and suddenly, I didn’t feel as socially incapacitated and oppressed as I did in India. I’m not implying that India doesn’t have its glories for me. As cheesy as I may sound, growing up in such a tight knit society that was above the petty grievances of religion and language barriers with an unquestionably peaceful co-existence (SHIKHAR), gave me a well-rounded perspective of society and the relationships we form in it, making me what I am today.
A part of me will probably always be the eight-year old Rhea who eats pani-puri at the roadside stalls every other day (which may or may not be hygienic), and buys 50 paise Coffee Bites by the dozen at Mahavir’s.
I realize that I’ve probably been a little too candid in this emotional purge of words, and that makes me feel vulnerable, so I shall end this rather cathartic rant on a quote from one of my favourite poems:
“I am large, I contain multitudes.” –Walt Whitman, Song of Myself. (Section 51)
- Gargi Parkale (Guest Blogger)
Giving Back is Good
Currently, my schedule consists of
going to school, volunteering here and there, and simply hanging out with
friends or family. There have been many times where my parents have talked to
me asking when I will look for a job, blah blah blah. I mean, that’s good-
that’s what I must do- I must go get a job and plan for the future. But there’s
something inside me that has a different idea.
When I graduate from
post-secondary (which I hope I do), all I will be doing is work, work, and more
work. So I’ve been thinking, why not have fun and do what I want to do while
I’m not at the working stage yet? I volunteer my time helping those in need of
assistance. I volunteer because I want to, not because I have to. Why? Because
I feel like the world has given me enough, and that I should give back.
Giving back to the community is
good. Sometimes our lives aren’t always about the individual us, sometimes it’s
about the collective us. What does that exactly mean? Your life isn’t always
about you. It’s also about the people around you. There are people living in
the streets, new immigrants struggling to communicate, and others- all things where
we can intervene and help. It feels good to know that your acts help other
people, and make other’s lives better if not easier. On the other side of the
spectrum, knowing that someone is there to help when in need feels good. It
gives life more meaning. It makes living more meaningful.
Just think of a world where every
individual stops being selfish and starts helping each other out. How perfect
of a place would that be! There’s a Coca-Cola commercial that sang “Give a little
love and it all comes back to you. You’re going to be remembered for the things
that you say and do.” I never knew I would look up to an advertisement phrase
before. But these lines are accurate, and you shall try to believe in. The more
we give, the more we get after all, eh?
I invite
you to be active in the community. My New Year’s Resolution is to get involved
and volunteer more. Make it yours too. You can begin by helping others in need
such as helping an old person cross the road, or offer a seat to the elderly
while in transit. You can also volunteer in other places like libraries and
community centres.
Together, we can make the world a better place. Together, we
can make a difference.
Be the change!
Jose
If you are looking for ways to volunteer, do not forget to check the volunteer section under our RESOURCES menu.
