Hi all

Can any one give us any info on volunteer groups in the kamloops area - anything (within reason) would be considered. Are canadians into volunteer groups the same as UK? We are just thinking ahead for when we actually get there so we can integrate hopefully with the "locals" easier. Does anyone else have any suggestions about making life a little easier to be accepted?
Mike & Lesley

I've never lived in the UK, so I don't know the extent to which British people volunteer. Certainly many Canadians volunteer. Just do a Google search for VOLUNTEER + NAME OF CITY IN WHICH YOU'RE INTERESTED.

The BE Wiki article entitled Relocation Strategies has suggestions for fitting in.

There are lots of Volunteer groups here in Kamloops, I help out at my Son's School now and again but that is hardly in the same league as delivering food to the elderly over Winter.

As Judy said, Google is your friend but also check the City website http://www.kamloops.ca/index.shtml

What sort of thing do you want to do? Local Search & Rescue groups are often in need of volunteers. This does require a degree of physical fitness and willingness to be called out pretty much anytime.

Volunteering here is a very, very big part of the culture - more so than the UK in my opinion.

You can will probably find a service for anything you want to do from volunteer fire-fighting - to helping the elderly get to their hospital appointments. The museums in Stony are also always looking for volunteers to help out with loads of stuff including doing scrap-booking of some of their paper exihibits. I would imagine, anywhere here would be similar.

A great place to start is contacting the public libraries in the area you want to settle - they usually have posters and such up.

Volunteer Kamloops website.

you are doing exactly the right thing volunteering.

weve been in edmonton since feb and ive made some great friends through volunteering.
i volunteer at Voiceprint Canada, where i read the newspapers on to the internet and in the summer helped at the Edmonton Grand Prix for 5 weeks.
im now also going to help out at plays and other arts productions.

i really have made great friends, all canadians, who have done allsorts for us inc lending us a car, thanksgiving dinner and now Christmas dinner.

so go for it, great fun and lots of rewards

You have lit a spark in Mike - his little ears have perked up and he is riding in the helicopters and on the lifeboats - I think that volunteer group is for him!

We used Volunteer Vancouver, Go Volunteer and Board Match to find volunteer postions in Vancouver. I'm sure there must be something similar in Kamloops.

If you ski have a look at http://www.disabledskiingbc.com/. Mr L2S and I volunteer with VASS the Vancouver Adaptive Snow Sports. I've made my closest friends in Vancouver through the people I met there.

My friend at work is the club secretary of KSAR, if you need any other info let me know.

They are looking for volunteers for the 2010 Olympics if you are interested.
Just announced today and you can apply online.

http://www.vancouver2010.com/en/Part...rOpportunities

Yoong

SAR is not quite a 'club' it is an association/society, under control of PEP (Provincial Emergency Program). SAR members belong to their SAR group as well as PEP. Some areas are very active and ground SAR members should be prepared to be called out at anytime and in all weathers. Fitness and commitment is of paramount importance for applicants to join.

http://www.sarbc.org/sarbc/sar-sarcan.html

http://www.nss.gc.ca/site/ss/magazin..._2/index_e.asp

Hi beeginger,
I thought about you when I heard the 2010 Olympics asking for volunteers.
Are you considering it?
Yoong

unfortunately too far away

When the Winter Olympics were held in Calgary in 1988, my kids were young (one was still a pre-schooler), and I wasn't able to volunteer.

However, several of my friends volunteered. They found it to be a most rewarding experience. A great esprit d'core evolved amongst the volunteers, and I noticed that it lasted amongst them for years after the Olympics.

So, based on what I saw in Calgary, I would say that a person who had the time to volunteer (and who lived in the relevant geographic area of course) would get a lot out of it.