Maria de Fatima Lima was not surprised when the judge at her citizenship ceremony encouraged her to volunteer in Canada right after she took her citizenship oath.
De Fatima Lima had herself been working with newcomers for a couple years before she became a citizen and always told them the same thing.
Encouraging newcomers to volunteer “is the first conversation we have,” said de Fatima Lima, who co-ordinates volunteers at the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area (MAGMA), a settlement organization in Moncton, N.B.
De Fatima Lima, who is originally from Brazil, tells newcomers that volunteering is a “pathway” to increased social connections and job opportunities.
But not everyone accesses volunteering in the same way.
According to those who work with volunteers and newcomers, Canada has a distinct volunteer culture —and this determines both who volunteers and who leads volunteer organizations.
‘Vocabulary’ of volunteering
A recent Statistics Canada report shows differences in volunteerism rates by race and immigration status.
About 70 per cent of racialized Canadians volunteered in 2023, compared with 74 per cent of white Canadians. Both groups were significantly more likely to volunteer informally, by directly helping people, than to volunteer formally with an organization.
Volunteering rates differ significantly based on an individual’s immigration status. Nearly 80 per cent of racialized individuals born in Canada said they volunteered, versus 67 per cent of those born outside of Canada.
Different cultural ideas about volunteering may be a factor.
“[Volunteering is] just not necessarily something we grew up with in our vocabulary, but it’s not to say that people didn’t volunteer,” said Clovis Grant, who moved to Canada from Jamaica when he was nine.
Today, Grant is CEO of 360°Kids, a charity in the York Region of Ontario that supports homeless youth. He says volunteering looked very different in the rural community where his family lived in Jamaica.
“People just served and helped other people who were in need,” he said. “We watched out for each other’s kids and so we didn’t have a volunteer network.”
De Fatima Lima agrees.
“We [help others] all the time [in Brazil],” she said. “But this is something employers will not look for in your resume.”
In Canada, by contrast, employers often want to see volunteer experience on a resume. This is one of the reasons she encourages newcomers to do it.
Many racialized Canadians may not report all the time they spend helping others, says Alfred Lam, executive director of the Centre for Immigrant and Community Services, a newcomer settlement agency in Scarborough, Ont.
“There’s a distinction to be made between the concept of volunteerism in Canada versus that human nature of wanting to help,” he said.
Finding information
Immigrants may struggle to find information about volunteering.
According to Statistics Canada, 42 per cent of racialized immigrants said they did not know how to get involved in formal volunteering — double the rate of white Canadians
Volunteer applications, which often includes completing police record checks, can be overwhelming for many newcomers, says Lam.
Many newcomers do not have the time or mental energy to volunteer, he says.
“So much of their lives are in a flux,” he said. Many are working several jobs to make ends meet while also learning a new language and getting used to a new home.
But volunteering is crucial for helping newcomers feel like they belong in Canada, and as a result, staying in Canada, says Lam.
“One of the most important factors that determine an immigrant’s experience in Canada is their sense of belonging,” he said.
Lam encourages organizations to create volunteer opportunities that “aren’t just seen as a demand on someone’s time.”
Immigrants may be more likely to volunteer if they can practise English while volunteering, or if volunteering takes place while their children are participating in a supervised activity.
Organizations should “carve [volunteering] out so that it’s almost like a little oasis in the day,” he said.
Board diversity
While a majority of racialized Canadians volunteer, they are typically not in leadership positions at volunteer organizations.
Only 20 per cent of racialized Canadians were on volunteer boards or committees, Statistics Canada says, compared with 32 per cent of white Canadians.
The lack of board diversity “can reinforce blind spots,” said Jodene Baker, vice-president of research, advocacy and external relations at Imagine Canada, an organization that supports charities and non-profits.
“It’s not that the board’s making bad decisions. They’re making very well-intentioned decisions,” she said. “But they just might not align with the realities of the people that they serve.”
Grant, who serves on volunteer boards, says that because racialized Canadians are not often on boards or in executive positions in the for-profit world, they are also overlooked for board positions in the non-profit world.
“People on boards usually recruit their peers,” he said.
“When people are looking for [voluntary] board [members], they tend to want people who’ve got stature, who have a network, who can bring money to the organization and so then they tend to recruit people who are higher net worth.”
Some organizations are intentionally working to change that.
In September, Volunteer Ottawa hosted a speed dating-styled night where charities could meet prospective board members. Nearly 100 individuals and 17 charities participated, says Jessie-Lee Wallace, the organization’s executive director.
“We really have a deficit in racialized leaders on boards,” she said. “It’s something that we have to constantly and consistently be supporting to really see it change.”
Lam says he has seen improvements in board diversity — but also increasing anti-immigrant sentiments and companies ditching diversity and inclusion programs.
“I see signs that we’re moving forward, but we’re moving forward against a pretty strong headwind.”
I agree wholeheartedly that volunteerism is one of the best ways to keep connected with each other in our country and give us all a better country because of this. We learn so much by working together with others, gaining an understanding of other cultures, and also learning from others how we can be a welcoming community for those who are fleeing from violence and terror. AS a 92 year old, I learned this from my parents and have volunteered all my life as do our children. It is a two way street. I learn and I give. Others learn and they give. Thank you for the opportunities which makes life so enriching.