Volunteering

Volunteering your time to an area of interest can lead to invaluable experience. It may also simply broaden your knowledge of a career field for future employment. If your goal is to be a social worker, psychologist, or counsellor, you may consider working with a help line (HelpLine 24hr. lay counselling, information and referral service 422-2048) for runaways, or assault victims (Avalon Centre - crisis intervention services for female victims of sexual assault-422-4240) to see how you find working in that area.

If your considering health care, work in a hospital as a porter or take books around to patients. Spending time with patients in nursing homes or rehabilitation facilities gives you the opportunity to see some of the facility operations. Volunteering also gives you the chance to meet people in that field. It maximizes your exposure to contacts that may be of benefit to you in the long run.

You may not wish to volunteer your time in a "career oriented" field. Areas of personal interest could also use your time. Environmental groups like Ecology Action Centre and Clean Nova Scotia Foundation deal with issues involving such topics. Consider working to help educate others on how they too can be environmentally friendly. Consider a position with an organization like Greenpeace International that focuses on these same issues.

If you do not know where would be the best place to spend your time get in touch with the Metro Volunteer Resource Center for information and leads. In Halifax 423-1368 and Dartmouth 464-1440 (leave message).
Dalhousie University has a Volunteer Resource Library at the Dal Student Volunteer Bureau of the Dal Guide to Student Services
Here are a few other links you may want to look at...