Wherever you travel, you will have a more meaningful trip by connecting with locals
Volunteer vacations are becoming so popular that the travel industry has coined a word for this kind of tourism. Now you can search the web for voluntourism and find hundreds of sites that provide travel with a heavy focus on volunteering. Many of those programs have you signing up for a week or two, or…
Give yourself some time to evaluate options. Be honest with your ego and let your imagination troll through deep waters
A lot of my friends are retiring. And there are many retirement models being thought about, reviewed, argued and applied or avoided. But it doesn’t really appear to me that any of them were exhaustively analyzed before selection. In fact, many seem to be derived from previous family practice (i.e. what parents did), simply made…
Volunteers over the age of 65 contribute on average 214 volunteer hours annually.
Just how valuable are seniors in Canadian society? A new study has put a dollar figure on the value of volunteerism by Canadian seniors and it’s pegged at a whopping $10.9 billion. The Revera Report on Aging: Living a Life of Purpose, the 8th report on aging and ageism released Thursday by Revera, one of…
As entrepreneurs, when we say yes to opportunities that make sense, we become invigorated – and that spurs growth
In 1988, Louis approached me one day and asked if I would join him in building a business. I knew I was taking a chance but I said yes. By saying yes, I had to turn down an offer from Tom that would have made me three times the income over the short term. There…
There’s so much to gain by volunteering for something that can bring so much good to our community
A generation after the 1988 Winter Olympics transformed Calgary, its citizens are debating whether to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Calgary council votes on Sept. 10 on whether to keep the process alive, and its citizens will have their say in a plebiscite on Nov. 13. What are the risks and rewards in…
The human spirit has evolved over several hundred thousand years and will survive Trump's crude behaviour
More and more, Newton’s third law makes sense in my volunteer life: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. For many of us, these are dispiriting times. Trade wars, trashing of environmental regulations, insulting of long-term allies, and validation of racist and crude behaviours emanating from our American neighbours aren’t the norm…
Three ways to get youth involved in community building – for a better Canada
By Sen. Art Eggleton and Sen. Raymonde Saint-Germain In recent years, Canada has seen a spike in youth engagement in the volunteer sector. That’s very good news. This has largely come about because of high school programs that require a minimum number of volunteer hours to graduate. The idea is that youth have plenty to…
Travel tips: Nordic baths in the Alberta Rockies, music and craft beer festivals for ski enthusiasts, and portable speakers for your next getaway
Beginning with this column, noted travel writer Lisa Monforton will provide insider tips on new and popular travel destinations, hotel deals, gadget reviews, and unique and affordable experiences for Canadian travellers. If you're wondering how you might afford that surf-and-sand holiday in the sunny Caribbean, here's an idea to consider. In the wake of the…
Seven Saskatchewan students were among 28 Canadian students who recently returned from a Me to We trip to India
By Kevin McBain The Kindersley Clarion Students from Saskatchewan's Kindersley Composite School are well known for helping others at home and abroad. Grade 12 students Jillian McArthur and Colton Leismeister recently returned from a Me to We trip, during which they helped build school rooms in India. McArthur was making her third trip with Me…
Our society is filled with organizations that need volunteer help. And it is both fun and ennobling working for the common good
I keep hearing from older volunteers that it’s getting harder to find younger folks to volunteer for civil society board work. When I tell people I’m on five boards, I often get asked, “Why do you do it?” Even my almost-95-year-old mother asks, “Do they pay you for all the volunteering you do?” I have…