Pam Snowdon
www.reddeerexpress.com
Women Today
finds joy connecting people to volunteer opportunities BY MARK WEBER mark.weber@reddeerexpress.com
For Pam Snowdon, helping folks find the most meaningful volunteer opportunities brings a continual sense of joy and fulfillment. Snowdon is the executive director of the Red Deer-based Volunteer Central, where the mandate is all about linking local residents to a volunteer opportunity that fits best with their interests, talents and abilities. It’s a natural fit for Snowdon, who was inspired as a youngster by her parents, who were always more than willing to lend a helping hand during her growing up years in Ontario. “I do often tell the story about how volunteering was role-modeled to me when I was a kid,” she explained during a chat in her downtown office. “My mother was an immigrant from Holland, and when she came to this country she got very busy volunteering and helping other newcomers with their settlement.” Her mom would do everything from helping folks with interpretation at the doctor’s office to assistance with appointments and school registration. “I remember driving around the backroads in her station wagon - she would take people things that would help them as well. Both my parents were also very involved in their faith community. A lot of us did grow up in those smaller communities where people did just pitch in and help - growing up in a small town, that was kind of the norm.” Seeing her parents be on the lookout for how they could make a difference wasn’t lost on Snowdon, who began to understand both how vital volunteering is to a given community, and how fulfilling it can be. “We often encourage students -
high school and college students - to volunteer because it’s a great way to test and see if a career path is right for you or not,” she said. “Is it going to be what you thought it was?” Over the years, Snowdon has worked as a professional writer, and owns her own company called Chrysalis Writing Services. She also worked for several years at a women’s centre in Ontario before moving out west in 2002. “It was one of my first forays into volunteering that turned into a career path with a non-profit,” she said. After arriving in Alberta, Snowdon was busy raising her children, delving more into freelance writing and volunteering where she could. Eventually, she took the position of executive director of Volunteer Central and it’s been, as mentioned, the ideal fit for Snowdon. As Central Alberta’s volunteer centre, they promote and encourage volunteering in Red Deer and Central Alberta. Through their comprehensive website, convenient downtown location, and relevant programs and workshops, they connect volunteers, non-profit organizations and businesses to create successful volunteer relationships in Central Alberta. “The mandate is to connect volunteers to opportunities and another part of that is to develop skills so we have a really wellskilled, experienced and strong cohort of volunteers in the community. It’s also to encourage everyone to volunteer, because everyone can play a role - no matter how big or small that is, or how formal or informal that is, too.” Volunteer Central provides a listing of volunteer opportunities, non-profit employment opportunities, training programs and
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HELPING OUT - Pam Snowdon gets a great sense of joy in helping folks find meaningful volunteer opportunities. Mark Weber/Red Deer Express
workshops. Sometimes, people opt to steer clear of volunteering, and one of the reasons is they may feel ill-equipped, or unsure of the expectations. But if organizations are clear about what they expect - to sit on a board for example - folks can rest assured their presence is in itself a source of support that is extremely valuable. “It doesn’t need to be this scary thing that keeps people away,
because people really have so much to contribute; so much richness from their life experiences not just to boards but to organizations in general,” she said. For Snowdon, there couldn’t be a better path. “Organizations in our community are helping everybody, and there are thousands of volunteers working behind the scenes to make that happen.”
Saluting all Women in Today’s World. Kim Schreiner MLA Red Deer North
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