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Seniors can share their skills to support their neighbours

Serving as a board member on a non–profit society can be a less taxing but extremely meaningful contribution to your community
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Gail Snider is the executive director with the Saanich Volunteer Services Society.

As a recent or impending retiree, you may be thinking of ways to spend time supporting your community.  If volunteering has crossed your mind, you need look no further than any local magazine or newspaper to find a plethora of opportunities.

From coaching sports, to cleaning up parks or donating your time to help drive seniors to appointments at agencies such as Saanich Volunteers, everyone is anxious to gratefully accept your contributions.

Deciding to volunteer and for whom, can be quite a challenge.  Making the best use your time in a way that enhances your knowledge, supports your interests and is ultimately, enjoyable, will help you choose the right fit.  Communities rely heavily on volunteers to support them with their various undertakings, making volunteers the lifeblood of most places.

An often overlooked option for sharing your skills, expertise and knowledge in a way that may be less taxing on your time but extremely meaningful, is by offering to serve as a board member on a non–profit society.  All non-profits require governance to ensure that their activities follow responsible procedures when carrying out their missions and goals. Many of us have read of situations where well-meaning folks have been blindsided by practices that undermine their good intentions and ultimately become costly mistakes.  An effective board of directors prevents this problem.

Retirees, young professionals and everyone else with a commitment to ethical practices can provide a much-needed service by becoming a board member on a non–profit.  By doing so, you support the staff and volunteers in making the best decisions in the interests of the people they serve. Board members guide the organization along the proper course of accountability and ensure that any donations or funds used by the agency are managed appropriately.

Saanich Volunteer Services has an excellent board of directors and is currently seeking directors to serve our neighbours. We are celebrating our 25th year of service in Saanich in 2017. What better way to use those talents and share in a wonderful organization than by joining our board.

Contact Blair Matheson through our website www.saanichvolunteers.org or send me an email at executivedirector@saanichvolunteers.org and we will happily chat with you about this very rewarding opportunity.

 

Gail Snider is the executive director with the Saanich Volunteer Services Society.