How do I look for Volunteer Opportunities?

This online database provides several ways for you to find volunteer opportunities in your community. If you can't find what you are looking for, or would like more information about volunteering and volunteerism, please contact us!

A few things to keep in mind...

• We depend on organizations to keep their information up-to-date and let us know when positions are expired or filled. It is possible that a position may still be posted here for some time after it has been filled, until we are notified.
• We depend on organizations to report new opportunities and to give an accurate and complete description of the opportunity. If you feel that some information is in error or incomplete, it can be reported to us by using the "Suggest an Update" link within the opportunity record.
• Some positions are seasonal. Generally, seasonal positions are only available for searching during periods of active recruitment

What would you like to do?

• Search for opportunities that suit my location, skills and schedule
• Browse volunteer opportunities for a specific organization
• Browse through different catgories of volunteer opportunities
• Search for opportunities suitable for a student
• Find opportunities that are new or have changed recently

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Search for opportunities that suit my location, skills and schedule

The main search is a 4 step process, beginning with "Search: Step 1", allowing you to locate opportunities that match any or all of the following critieria:

1. Communities

These are the regions or neighbourhoods from which the organization is soliciting volunteers. Note that this may or may not be where the volunteer activity itself will take place. The number beside each area indicates how many positions are available for people from that area.

2. General Area of Interest

These are broad areas of interest or skills associated with the opportunity. Choose at least one, and as many as you are interested in. The number beside each area of interest indicates how many different positions are available for those areas, and will be limited by which communities you chose in step 1. If there aren't very many options available to you, you may use your back button to broaden your search.

3. Specific Area of Interest

These are specific areas of interest, or specific skills, associated with the opportunity. You can select one or more, or do not select any to search all specific areas of interest. The number beside each area of interest indicates how many different positions are available for those areas, and will be limited by which communities you chose in steps 1 and 2. If there aren't very many options available to you, you may use your back button to broaden your search.

4. Days and Times

Optionally, you can indicate the times and days on which you are available to volunteer. If you do not get any results, then your schedule critieria was too restrictive and there were no opportunities which match both your schedule and all the criteria you choose in steps 1-3. You may use your back button to broaden your search by choosing more times in which you are available, or go back to earlier steps to be less restrictive if you need to find a position that meets specific scheduling needs.

Browse volunteer opportunities for a specific organization

Already have an organization in mind? Use the "Browse By Organization" search to see which organizations are currently offering opportunities. Organizations are listed alphabetically: choose a letter to see a list of organizations which begin with that letter. If you can't find the organization you are looking for, try different variations of the name if there are any. However, the organization may not have any opportunities at this time or may choose not list their opportunities here.

Browse through different categories of volunteer opportunities

If you aren't sure what you might be interested in, or just want a sense of the kind of positions that are available, selecting "Browse By Volunteer Category" may be a good option. It allows you to see a list of categories (general areas of interest or skills) and the number of positions available for each category.

Search for opportunities suitable for a student

The student search is just like the Main Search, but during "Step 1" you are also able to specify your age (to find a youth-friendly position) and whether you need a position that is suitable for meeting Ontario's Secondary School Diploma volunteer component.

Find opportunities that are new or have changed recently

Are you a regular visitor to the site? Didn't find the right position last time you visited?

Use "What's New" to find opportunities which have been changed or added since your last visit. By default, "What's New" will show you records updated in the past 14 days. Note that this may not return any records; you can force the list to show the most recently updated records by selecting a value for "Show at least X records". You can also choose to look at records that were "Created" (newly added) or "Modified" (minor changes only) in a given time period.