Over 50 residents attended the Brant Regional Association of Volunteer Administration’s (BRAVA) annual volunteer fair on Saturday, May 3, 2025.
Held in partnership with the City of Brantford, the event featured a variety of organizations looking to connect with potential volunteers.
“We have 21 different agencies set up today, including BRAVA itself, and they all represent a nice, wide variety of different service areas,” said Kari Astles, BRAVA President.
From the Kiwanis Club to the Brantford Food Bank, the Brant Community Healthcare System, the Grand River Council on Aging, the Optimist Club and Hope’s Closet Boutique, there were plenty of opportunities for residents to connect with meaningful volunteer opportunities.
“I always grew up believing that where you live isn’t your community unless you do something to make it a better place. For some people that might mean giving money, for others that might mean giving their time, but for me, it’s about helping people find the right volunteer fit,” said Renee VanderHarst, Manager of Volunteer Services with Habitat for Humanity Heartland Ontario. “Because if you don’t feel appreciated, if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, and if you feel it’s a burden to volunteer, then you’re not going to keep doing it. So coming out here to events like this, gives people the opportunity to have multiple conversations and to see what feels like the best fit, which will in turn, lead them to having a more meaningful volunteer experience that will last.”
Astles said that without dedicated volunteers, the city and the surrounding area would likely operate very differently.
“A lot of organizations that we have here today, and that are part of our community, their programs rely on volunteers to be able to run; the service clubs, for example, are completely volunteer run and so without them, the fundraising activities that they do and the support they provide for others, wouldn’t happen,” she said. “A lot of programs and services that our community relies on so heavily, wouldn’t happen without volunteers; things like the City’s Snow Buddies program and the outdoor rink program? Those wouldn’t happen without volunteers.”
Astles added that not only do people enjoy volunteering because they can give back and be a part of the community, but because they have an opportunity to socialize and meet new people as well.
“What I often hear from our volunteers is that it’s a social opportunity,” she said. “Because isolation has become such a big thing over the last number of years, people are looking for ways to connect with others in a meaningful way, and volunteering is one way that they can do just that.”
VanderHarst, who was there sharing more information about Habitat for Humanity, said that the event was a great way to end National Volunteer Week and to catch up with fellow BRAVA agencies.
“National Volunteer Week, which is an opportunity for volunteer-based organizations from coast-to-coast to take the time to acknowledge the amazing people that help us do what we do, has now come to an end, and so an event like this is really kind of the perfect way to cap it off,” she said. “You’ll notice in the world of volunteer administrators, we kind of help each other out and so to have us gathered here providing a one stop shop for people looking to give back to their community, it’s just awesome. A conversation at one table, might lead into a conversation at another table and helping each other out, so sharing those amazing resources really makes our community stronger.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
