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Ontario
Hamilton, ON Lodging: Accommodation can be arranged in local homes or local MVS unit house. Opportunities are available year-round. Fraser Lake, ON Service Opportunities: Volunteers at Fraser Lake Camp can serve as Bible teachers for children attending camp during the summer, help with the nature program, mentor younger staff, or help with camp maintenance. Projects at McArthur’s Mills Mennonite Church in nearby Bancroft also a possibility. Lodging: Trailers or RVs could be accommodated, and camp staff housing is available. Opportunities run from May to August only. Toronto, ON Service Opportunities: Volunteers in Toronto can serve in the various service ministries of Mennonite and other churches. Settings include visiting with and helping seniors at a senior’s complex, assisting the staff at a Mennonite refugee and immigrant center that provides holistic services, and an outreach in a high-rise community where thousands of people from all over the world reside. Volunteers can also serve in homeless shelters and soup kitchens by serving meals and interacting with marginalized people. Volunteering at the local MCC Thrift Shop and Ten Thousand Villages stores is also a possibility. Lodging: Housing arrangements will be made by the MCC Toronto office. Ottawa, ON Service Opportunities: For over 20 years the Ottawa Mennonite Church has been hosting an annual Ten Thousand Villages (formerly Self Help Crafts of the World) sale during the month of November. Ten Thousand Villages provides fair income to Third World people by selling their handicrafts and telling their stories in North America. The Ten Thousand Villages Festival Sale at the Ottawa Mennonite Church operates every Friday and Saturday in November. A tea room serving sandwiches, borscht, desserts, tea and coffee is also part of the sale on Saturdays. This project is made possible with the support of many local volunteers from both the church and the larger community who help with the set up of the sale and the selling the products. One or two full-time volunteers who can be available on a regular basis during the week are also needed to help ensure the smooth running of the sale. Sale coordinators will provide support and direction to the full-time volunteer(s). Duties include: Receiving shipments, helping to unpack the product and store packing materials (boxes, bubble wrap, crates, etc.), assisting with set up of sale areas, assisting with the actual sale on Fridays and Saturdays, helping to organize the final pack up at the end of the sale. Please note some heavy lifting may be required. Meals are provided for all volunteers during the sale hours. One to two people are needed from late October to the end of November for approximately 25-30 hours per week, although there is flexibility in dates and hours. Previous Ten Thousand Villages experience is an asset, but not essential. Lodging: A guest room in a private home with shared kitchen facilities and living space. New Hamburg, ON Service Opportunities: Ten Thousand Villages Head Office and Distribution Centre is located in New Hamburg, Ontario; 1 and a half hours west of Toronto, midway between Kitchener and Stratford. Volunteers would work in the Distribution Center for Ten Thousand Villages. The following list reflects the range of duties assigned (specific tasks will be determined based upon applicant's abilities and interests and the needs of the Distribution Center): picking and packing orders, festival sales department assistance, occasional delivery truck driving, annual tent sale assistance (one Sat. in September). Volunteers must have the ability to do regular standing, walking and bending for extended periods of time. Depending upon the specific position, one may need to have fine motor coordination, ability to push/pull pallets, capacity for reaching and climbing 3 steps on a cart and ability to lift up to 40 lbs. Teamwork, verbal communication, attention to detail, integrity and trust are also important to the task. For safety purposes Ten Thousand Villages requires that steel-toed shoes be worn in the Distribution Center and will contribute $37.50 per person for this cost. Hours of work: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm (15 minute break at 10:00am and 2:30 pm and a half hour lunch from 12:00 to 12:30) Monday to Friday. Participants may choose to work half days on Fridays or take a whole day off every other Friday. Lodging: Furnished accommodations plus a small stipend is provided. Financial assistance towards transportation costs incurred while traveling to from this assignment will also be given. |
