EVERYBODY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
by Pene Beavan Horton
Susan Zerb, Executive Director, Saanich Volunteers Services Society, joined the organization in 2000.
Susan, what pleases you most about being part of your organization?
"Essentially we provide individualized support. Our Community Services
Coordinator visits every new client to ensure we know their needs and preferences. Clients benefit from valuable information about other services and programs available in the community that will enhance their independence and wellbeing. Our Community Services Coordinator shares the clients’ interests, lifestyles and needs with our Coordinator of Volunteers who will mesh this awareness, so clients and volunteers are compatibly matched.”
"Knowing that everything I do makes a difference to someone in my own community. The beauty of this work is the lovely relationships that develop between our clients, volunteers and staff.
What is your organization’s most pressing need?
"Volunteers and operational funding. Saanich has the fastest growing senior population in the region. As such, we have a continuous need for volunteers. It is a wonderful thing that more people are able to ‘age in place’ and this creates more pressure on community services likes ours to meet changing and growing demands for assistance. Clients’ needs are complex, and drive the requirement for careful volunteer recruitment and orientation. Ongoing education about visible and invisible disabilities help all of us stay current and equipped to provide clients with services and compassionate support.
"We encourage people who want to make a difference in their own back yard to consider leaving a legacy to Saanich Volunteer Services Society. We are proud to hold an endowment fund at the Victoria Foundation and appreciate both designated and non-designated funds to provide community services into the future. Interested parties can contact us to learn how to make a gift that suits their individual circumstances and provides tax relief too!”
"We always need more volunteers! We have 933 clients and 290 volunteers. I would be thrilled to have 350 volunteers! Especially if more of them are able to provide drives! I hear all the time from volunteers who love volunteering because ‘It just feels so good!’ or ‘I learn so much from our clients. They are so interesting and have so much to share. I love their life stories!”
"My greatest desire is to have enough volunteers to meet the community’s needs. I’m hoping that more early retirees will join the organization. Many recent recruits are newcomers to the community, and they join to connect with people’s lives around them and get to know their city."
Your web site lists eight different types of service. Which category do you most need more volunteers to fill?
"Drivers. We need more drivers to take clients to doctor appointments, because they can’t use public transportation any more. Last year we drove almost eighty thousand kilometers. We have ten receptionists who dispatch the drivers to accommodate the clients’ schedules, a juggling act and labour intensive task …"
“President Clinton advised people to ‘pick three causes, local community, your country and one that is international. Learn everything you can, spread the message, and do what you can to make a difference.’"
If you’re interested in volunteering in any capacity, please call 250-595-8008 ext: 21 or go to www.saanichvolunteers.org and fill in an application!
Contact Susan Zerb, Executive Director:
Saanich Volunteers Services Society
1445 Ocean View Rd Victoria BC V8P 1J8
ph: 250-595-8008 ext: 21 fax: 250-595-8005
www.saanichvolunteers.org
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