Volunteer Calgary - History of Volunteering in Calgary

History of Volunteering in Calgary

The city of Calgary has a long history of volunteering, as a prairie settlement, volunteering was literally a matter of survival for the European settlers who came with dreams of settling the west. The spirit of community was evident in the lives of these early homesteaders as they quickly formed tight niches amongst each other. For those early settlers, volunteering was as simple as helping a neighbor build a house to donating food or supplies to those settlers that were struggling and as the community grew so did the spirit of Volunteering (i.e.)traditional barn raising events, church socials, volunteer fire brigades etc.

The first Volunteer Center in Canada was established in 1937 in Montreal to respond to the need for volunteers during the Second World War. The first volunteer center in Calgary was established in 1955 by the Junior League. During the 1960s and 1970s, Volunteer Centers were established across Canada in many urban areas, with intentions to promote and support effective volunteering.

Today there are over 200 Volunteer Centers across Canada these centers have developed significant expertise in the area of volunteerism through the development of programs, research, and training. The centers are committed to resolving issues influencing the way people volunteer in Canada by reducing the barriers and promoting safe and meaningful volunteer opportunities. Volunteer Centers support and promote a variety of new and emerging trends in volunteering. Areas of volunteering include such programs as: youth volunteerism, corporate volunteerism, mandatory volunteerism, community service orders, educational campaigns, and governmental legislation.

Since the early settlers, Calgary has grown to become a vibrant cosmopolitan city of over 1 million and the spirit of volunteering is becoming prominent due to the ongoing work of the local volunteer centers.