NAITSA invited local non-profit organizations to the NAIT CAT Building for a Volunteer Fair on Tuesday. The organizations in attendance showcased volunteer initiatives for students with the hope of recruiting student volunteers. Having the fair at NAIT gave the charities the chance to attract volunteers whose interests line up with the organizations’ needs.
“Being at NAIT, we’re hoping to meet some maybe nursing students or some people in health sciences or even people who are just interested in working with children,” said Grace Cantle, Program Director of the Canadian Skin Cancer Foundation.
Hundreds of students went from booth to booth at CAT Crossing meeting with the dozens of groups who attended. Post-secondary students are in high demand by local charities. As many students need to work a certain number of volunteer hours for classes and the volunteer work can also boost a resume.
“We mainly try and recruit post-secondary students because often they are looking for opportunities to build their resume and their work experience as well as it works with students schedules,” said Cantle. “We’re able to offer students letters of reference for working with us. We’re very flexible; there isn’t a set amount of hours you must work.”
The two-day long event featured organizations including Habitat for Humanity Edmonton, Edmonton’s Food Bank and the Canadian Mental Health Association. NAITSA will be hosting another volunteer fair in the spring semester.
