Volunteer Profiles

Mavis DeGirolamo believes deeply in the power of volunteerism.  As a volunteer, she teaches citizenship classes twice a month with the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria (ICA). She is a volunteer ESL teacher to staff at a local Japanese restaurant, during their work breaks.  She is also the chairperson of the following organizations: the Global Village Store, an alternative, fair trade gift shop; the Family Advisory Committee for the Glengarry nursing home; and the Black History Awareness Society. She is vice chairperson of the James Bay Community Project (which focuses on health and community services). She has been head of ICC’s community ceremony committee in Victoria since 2008.

“I just think it’s really important that we try even harder to make Canada a much more welcoming place for those who choose Canada as their home,” she said.  

Where does she find the energy to do so much?  “I have some quiet nights. It allows me to catch up!”

Mavis came from England in 1951 with her parents when she was 11.They settled in Saskatchewan and when she was 19, her family moved to Victoria.  In 1997, Mavis took early retirement as her parents became ill and ended up in a nursing home.  She decided this was the time to start giving back to the community.

“When I was a teacher in the public school system, I was a special needs teacher and wanted to make sure that people knew that my students were just as wonderful as everyone else’s. I became the teacher who got more involved in things like student council. We also had citizenship ceremonies and making sure everyone in the school was involved with it and I was president for the local teachers association for two terms.”

She finds her work with the ICC fulfilling because it brings new citizens together and believes volunteering to be intrinsically Canadian.

“I think the fact that the community ceremonies are a really lovely way to welcome new citizens to our country, the discussions are meaningful and it really helps to invite established Canadians to take part in the discussion and in the ceremony afterward. We always choose a theme for each ceremony.  We’ve done the Charter of Rights as a theme, we’ve done active citizenship, and this time, the theme will be “volunteering as act of citizenship”, since our ceremony will be during National Volunteer Week.  The challenge of finding the right mix of people and finding the right venue – it’s always a new challenge and it’s a great committee. They’re very dedicated.”

“Volunteering is really one of the values of being Canadian. I think our reputation abroad and within our own North American culture had been based on the fact that we have been helpers of each other and other countries and it displays the kind of generosity and compassion that Canadians are known for. ”

“It’s so rewarding to know that you can help to make a difference in someone’s life, by doing whatever it is that’s required, whether it’s a hug, a big smile, quiet time to spend with someone, or doing the organizational work that is required – to me that makes such a difference in my own life. My life is fulfilled – I love what I do.”

Long-time committee member Geoff Kettel is strongly committed to the spirit of empowerment.

“We must work with people so they realize they can be empowered,” he said. “When people give up, that’s when we have a problem. The spirit of empowerment and involvement is an extremely important value. And this goes for all communities.” 

Geoff has volunteered with the Institute for Canadian Citizenship since 2007. He’s involved with two ICC citizenship committees in Toronto, Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park “The ICC ceremonies are very powerful experiences. It’s a tremendous mission that Adrienne and John have created. It’s absolutely a unique and amazing contribution to the community.” 

Originally from northern England, Geoff came to Canada in 1970 with a background in public service.  He supports both Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park committees in leadership development.

“It’s really good to see authentic leadership coming out of the community – I always saw myself as a bridge maker, bridge builder in the community. I enjoy working with people on committees, lending expertise and working towards the broader goal of citizenship,””

His commitment and contributions to community building was recognized recently with a Volunteer Service Award , an honour handed out by Kathleen Wynne, Ontario’s Minister of Transportation and the MPP for Don Valley West in Toronto. Another ICC volunteer was also recognized with the award; the chair of the Thorncliffe Park committee Yousuf Syed who was nominated by none other than Geoff Kettel. Congratulations to both!

In addition to his work with the ICC, Geoff has a strong interest in residence associations around land use planning, heritage preservation, cycling advocacy and transportation. He volunteers for a range of groups such as the North York Community Preservation Panel, the Leaside Property Owners Association, the Community Police Liaison Committee in Toronto, Neighbour’s Night Out in Thorncliffe Park, an organization dedicated to community development, and Cycle 26, a cycling advocacy organization in Ward 26.

“What binds of all this together is my interest in a sense of place,” he said. “People are important and place is important. It’s not just about avoiding problems but building involvement in the community. I’m very politically interested – I don’t make a big deal out of partisanship, but understanding what’s going in the community, in the city, in the province, in the country, in the world is important.”

In all the volunteer work that he does, how does he maintain his own energy and sense of empowerment?

“My answer to that question is ‘how do I not do it?’ I get a lot of fulfillment out of the work. Canada is a nation of immigrants – we have to get along. Everyone has a better society when people work together. We all basically have the same objectives in mind, having families and living peaceably and raising our children, and we’ve really got to make it work.”  

Trina is the Chief Librarian of the Confederation Centre Public Library in Charlottetown, and the head of the first ICC Charlottetown Building Citizenship committee, which has 12 members. The Charlottetown committee had its first ceremony last October.

“Citizenship is something that is dear to my heart,” she said. “I found with our committee volunteers, for people who were born here, it was their first time attending a citizenship ceremony and the experience really gave them a different perspective on being a citizen. For those who made that decision to become citizens, they’ve already had that transformative moment and any further time reinforces it and responsibilities that you undertake.”

In addition to her committee work, Trina has also volunteered for the Canadian Cancer Society, the PEI Writers Guild and currently sits on the board of the PEI Literacy Alliance. Trina emigrated from Ireland when she was in university. The ICC approached her a little more than a year ago to get a citizenship committee started.

“I enjoy meeting people, most of the volunteer work I do has this component. Being an active citizen is about participating. Participation is key. It means giving back to your community in some way, regardless of at what level or ability. When you try to give back, you always get more than you give. It certainly has been my experience, anyway.”

Farid Rohani believes that “volunteerism is a domain of the heart.”

“It’s what you have a passion about,” he said. “The fact that we are in an economic time when funding is not available for all the different things we need to do, volunteerism becomes more important.  If we were to wait for government or business to get things done, everything would come to a standstill. Volunteerism is a part of that whole Canadian character – the fact that we assume a responsibility to do for others what we like to be done for ourselves.”

Farid emigrated from Iran in the summer of 1969 and grew up in Victoria. He studied political science at UBC and has worked in the lumber export business and automotive parts distribution.  His volunteer work is diverse. He was involved with Scouts Canada and he was on the advisory board of Channel M, which became OMNI TV.  He is also past chairperson of the Laurier Institute.

He became involved with the ICC from an invitation from ICC co-chair John Ralston Saul. “John spoke at a Laurier event and it was just a conversation we had together. He invited me to join. “

The Vancouver committee currently has 15 members, and it holds ceremonies twice a year, generally in the fall and spring.  One of the key priorities for the committee is to provide a safe and open environment for the roundtable discussions, so that the dialogue can be honest, and strong connections can be made among participants. Some new Canadians, due to their experiences in their previous home countries, may have some concerns that the intention of the roundtables is to collect information.

“The values that we hold dear as Canadians to understand each other – respect towards all, the uniqueness of Canadian character, and appreciation of each other’s differences - when you look at a garden every flower contributes to that beauty, you don’t want the flowers to be the same colour. By making the new citizens feel welcome and to get to know them and to follow up with them, you make lasting friendships.”

“The main thing for our committee is to create a welcoming environment for new citizens and for them to feel safe in the roundtable discussions. The main goal is to reach new Canadians and teach them about the value of getting involved as Canadians in their community and to tell them about opportunities that are available to them.”

Why should more people volunteer?

“To understand the roots of the community. By volunteering you put your hand in the pulse of the community, you see the average person and what’s important to them…through passion at a level that you would not find anywhere else.”

Through the years, sharing stories has cultivated a sense of belonging for accomplished speaker, facilitator and social change advocate Marva Wisdom.

“As I really became engaged in my early days of volunteering, I started to develop a broader network of people, I found an audience that made me feel comfortable in my own skin,” said Marva, who emigrated from Jamaica back in the early 1970s.  “This new sense of comfort helped me to own my story and feel proud of my identity as an immigrant, and everything else that goes along with that.  Through listening and sharing I have been able to sustain that feeling of self-acceptance. ”

Marva’s volunteer commitments are extensive.  As chairperson of the United Way 2010 and 2011 campaigns, she helped raise a record $2.8 million last year.  She’s the Vice Chairperson for the Canadian Centre for Diversity; the Honourary Chairperson of the YWCA Women of Distinction Alumnae; a Trustee with the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre; a board member of the Rotary Club of Guelph and the YMCA-YWCA and a committee member of the Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (Ontario region).  She was also appointed by Prime Minister Paul Martin as chairperson and co-chairperson of the 2004 and 2006 Election Platform Committee and served a 3-year term as national policy committee chairperson.

In addition to these involvements, Marva is the founding chairperson of the ICC’s Guelph committee. 

“The work at the ICC really spoke to my soul.   Its mandate to create that sense of belonging and engagement in one’s own community and country was a compelling reason to become involved.  It seemed a natural extension of the values that I hold dear, complete with a volunteer opportunity to work with others toward building community capacity that facilitates a welcoming place for our newest citizens.  When I approached the Rotary Club of Guelph, there was no hesitation incorporating this into their community wide Canada Day celebration.  Similarly our Mayor Karen Farbridge and Dr. William (Bill) Winegard (a war veteran, a past cabinet minister and former President of the University of Guelph), were pleased to serve as Honourary Chairs”

“Participating in conversations and going through the formal citizenship ceremony, I believe provides us with yet another opportunity to really hear each other’s stories …a wonderful thing.  Stories are a theme here – our citizenship journey is an amazing foundation from which we can embrace everything that we are: the Canadian and all our other parts - the richness of our collective identity.  In this sharing we find that our basic aspirations are the same and the reason for choosing Canada.”

I had the opportunity to support a young student as he received the Dr. William (Bill) Winegard award for community volunteerism.  Perhaps a way for me to sum up why or how I continue to volunteer is to reference Bill’s remarks.  He said in part, “…the thing about volunteering is that once you start it’s hard to stop’.  It’s something that becomes a part of you, becomes part of your DNA….” If it fits within my values and if I can make a difference and add any experience or lend a hand, it’s hard for me to say no.”

Marva shares that she has many treasured volunteer experiences, and one of her most treasured is participation along with other volunteer committee members, community leaders, students and others, in fostering that sense of belonging for our newest Canadians - made possible through the Institute for Canadian Citizenship.