Supporting Volunteerism in Rural Ontario
Ontario Trillium Foundation grant will help volunteers to help their communities

Whether assisting farmers or helping to establish food banks and support programs, Ontario’s rural volunteer community brings a special brand of caring to the province’s ever changing landscape. Volunteers are committed, hardworking and personally invested in the communities they serve.

They also face a number of challenges as they move forward in their mandate. How do they train their volunteers? Who forms their support network? And above all, how do they avoid volunteer burn-out?

To address these questions, the Ontario Trillium Foundation has awarded a grant of $199,000 to fund the initiative Enhancing and Rebuilding Rural Ontario’s Volunteer Base.

The project, a partnership involving 4-H Ontario, Ontario Agri Food Education Inc. and the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies will assess volunteers’ needs, deliver training and resource materials in 58 Ontario communities and report on the current ‘snapshot’ of volunteerism in rural Ontario.

The Honourable Helen Johns, Minister of Agriculture and Food, presented the $199,000 cheque on Friday, November 8th at the Royal Winter Fair. “Thanks to this grant, we will ensure that rural Ontario regains a strong volunteer foothold across the province, while building the overall capacity of rural volunteers within local communities across Ontario,” explained 4-H Ontario Executive Director Rob Black.

The Volunteer Base initiative will help provide tomorrow’s rural communities with the indispensable benefits that voluntary organizations offer. Says Shelley Barfoot-O’Neill, a 4-H volunteer who was a member in her own youth: “I loved it. Those programs gave me self-confidence and made me the person I am today.”