Volunteering Made Easy with Volunteer Connect

By Nick Malouin and Shamir Tanna

Many of us have volunteered at some point in our lives, and most of us have found it extremely rewarding. You’d be hard pressed to find a scrooge who thought “Wow, that was a waste of time” after serving a meal at the local soup kitchen. Volunteering makes us feel good because you truly get back as much as you put in.

For those who can’t donate money to their favorite causes, volunteering time, even an hour a week, can make a huge difference and contribute to personal satisfaction.

Yet, the vast majority of us do not volunteer. In fact, even in our socially conscious society, volunteering is becoming less popular and fewer people volunteer today than they did five years ago. How did this happen? One reason is that the way we interact with our community has fundamentally changed. Socializing today means sending emails, IMs and text messages. And when it comes to lending a hand, civic engagement has been reduced to online petitions and fair trade coffee. While every effort can help, we can’t forget the most effective way to give back is to show up in person – and that means volunteering.

Volunteer Connect was created to help people find great volunteer opportunities online so that they start making a difference offline. What sets Volunteer Connect apart from other volunteer matchmakers is that it leverages social media to connect volunteers and charities.

Our first application on Facebook taps into the millions of users and group connections already established. We don’t need to mobilize the population to get involved. They’re already there, and looking for an outlet.


As our generation alters its behavior, non-profits have to make adjustments. Old ways of recruiting volunteers –word of mouth, bulletin boards - aren’t as effective as they once were. We need to make it easier for volunteers to get involved, not harder. Our generation also has to realize that you can’t make a difference with a click of a button. Usually if something is too easy, it’s not effective. If you want to help out, then doing something in person may be the best way. Volunteer Connect was created with that goal in mind and we hope to see a difference with our application.

Nick Malouin and Shamir Tanna are co-founders of Volunteer Connect, a non-profit that uses social media to connect volunteers and charities. You can visit their application at www.vconnect.ca.