Jul 17, 2015
Vancouver, BC - This weekend, more than 1500 volunteers will come together to help create the 38th annual Vancouver Folk Music Festival (VFMF), a summer highlight in Vancouver. The Festival values volunteering as an opportunity for people to connect, engage, and discover joint solutions through a shared experience. Recruiting and training so many people, year after year, creates unique logistical challenges for organizations like VFMF that rely on volunteers.
To help, Langara College Continuing Studies is launching a new Volunteer Coordinator Certificate Program (VCCP) this September. As organizations seek to build a reliable and readily available volunteer base, it’s important to build an effective program that will promote loyalty, enhance business objectives, and provide a worthwhile experience for volunteers and staff alike. The program is aimed at individuals currently employed in non-profits, event management, amateur sport, corporations, and those who serve on a Board. It will build individuals’ skill-sets to include volunteer recruitment, training, management, and motivation, and expand their employment opportunities.
“For many years now, Langara Continuing Studies has specialized in offering high-quality employment skills programs. We are building on that expertise with this new program. It will provide a well-rounded set of managerial and leadership skills for anyone involved in the running of non-profit or volunteer organizations," said Daniel Thorpe, Dean, Continuing Studies. "This program fills a real need, as attested to by the keen interest it has received during its development. I’m very much looking forward to its launch this September.”
Volunteerism is an important component to a healthy British Columbia. Volunteers are needed across sectors, from arts, business, and recreation to non-profit, healthcare, and the environment. Approximately 1.5 million volunteers across the province contributed 114 million hours a year to better their communities (Source: Volunteer BC). The volunteer sector is one of the largest social and economic drivers in BC.
“Volunteers are essential to the operation, and integral to the success and ability of the VFMF in carrying out its mission and vision. The festival values the time, talent, experience, knowledge, and commitment contributed by our volunteers,” added Brade Stanton, VFMF Volunteer Coordinator.
The part-time program will prepare learners to enter into work as a volunteer coordinator for organizations that that rely on volunteers, or to augment administrative skills with a volunteer coordinator component. Graduates have the opportunity to expand employment opportunities and take on new roles with a focus on volunteer management.
About Langara
Located in beautiful Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Langara College provides University, Career, and Continuing Studies education to more than 21,000 students annually. With more than 1,700 courses and 130 programs, Langara’s expansive academic breadth and depth allows students of all ages, backgrounds, and life stages to choose their own educational path.
Learn more.
Mark Dawson
Communications Officer
T 604.323.5702
mdawson@langara.bc.ca
Eleanor Clarke
Program Coordinator
T 604.677.0198
eclarke@langara.bc.ca