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Mr. Dave Baspaly, Executive Director, Mr.
Jason Lesage, Community Engagement Coordinator, and Ms. Madison
Yip, Grade 12 Student at Moscrop Secondary School and Hive Team
Member, Volunteer Burnaby, appeared before the Committee providing
information on Volunteer Burnaby’s work in the community.
Mr. Lesage expressed appreciation to
the City for the support it has provided to Volunteer Burnaby over the past
40 years, and highlighted the following:
·
the
number of volunteers has increased between 2015 and 2018, with 217 volunteers
providing 1,530 hours of volunteer work in 2018;
·
100 Burnaby
organizations are seeking volunteers on the govolunteer.ca website which Volunteer
Burnaby helps manage; and,
·
volunteers
support a variety of community events, including Burnaby Pride Street Party,
Canada Day at Burnaby Village Museum, Edmonds City Fair, Edmonds Festival of
Lights, Hats Off Day, Korean Festival, Terry Fox Run and World Rivers Day.
The speaker noted that Volunteer
Burnaby member organizations include Burnaby-based and Metro Vancouver organizations,
such as: the Burnaby Arts Council; Burnaby Community Services; Burnaby Family
Life Institute; Burnaby Hospice Society; Burnaby MoreSports Society; Burnaby
Neighbourhood House; Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver; Greater
Vancouver Food Bank; Heights Merchants Association; Immigrant Services
Society of BC (ISSofBC); and Variety – the Children’s Charity of BC. Further,
Volunteer Burnaby is coordinating with private businesses who are interested
in volunteer work in the community.
Mr. Lesage introduced Ms. Yip, a
member of the Volunteer Burnaby Hive Team, an elite team of Burnaby youth who
are highly engaged in the community. Ms. Yip began volunteering in the
community at 13 years of age, and enjoys spending time in the community, and
interacting with and helping community members.
In closing, the delegation requested:
·
an annual
grant in support of the organization’s community programming – Item 7(a) on
the agenda; and,
·
declaration
of Volunteer Burnaby as an essential service in the City.
The Committee requested
clarification regarding the essential service declaration.
Mr. Baspaly noted that the City has
previously declared two local organizations as essential in its Community
Granting Policy, and Volunteer Burnaby sees volunteerism as intrinsic to
Burnaby’s identity and civic engagement.
The Committee recognized the value
of volunteers, and advised that two organizations were grandfathered in the
Community Granting Policy as they provide contractual services to the City. Further,
the Committee inquired regarding initiatives to engage volunteers of
different backgrounds.
The delegation informed the
Committee that some Volunteer Burnaby volunteers speak a second language, and
the organization engages cultural groups and new Canadians through the Mosaic,
S.U.C.C.E.S.S and ISSofBC.
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