When Algonquin graduate Stacey Kelly was a student last year, she spent a lot of her time volunteering with the AC Hub.
A graduate of the business administration and marketing program, Kelly earned herself the coveted 2015 Volunteer of the Year award, despite the campus not offering special volunteer assistance.
“I wish they’d done this when I was a student. It’s such an amazing thing,” said Kelly, who attended the grand opening for the new AC Hub Volunteer Centre on Oct. 21.
Kelly was among a 100 people who came to celebrate the Volunteer Centre, located in E203 of the Student Commons. It will offer support and direction for student volunteerism and community impact.
The centre, which will be called the VC, is a dedicated point of contact for students to become engaged with multiple community projects, global projects, the student leader program and the peer mentorship program.
“It has become very apparent that Algonquin students want to volunteer and that our community values their contributions,” said Shelley Styles, director of Algonquin’s Student Support Services. She told the cheerful crowd that the AC Hub has gone from five registered community partners to well over a hundred.
One such partner, Manoir Ronald McDonald House Ottawa, works with Algonquin to provide volunteer opportunities through their volunteer days and the meals that heal program.
“For us it’s about the little things that you’re able to bring to the families,” said Andrea Lamontagne, family room manager at Manoir Ronald McDonald House Ottawa. “I think it’s absolutely incredible to see when people share their time, because for families in the hospital there’s a lot of bad news.
When a family can turn around and see that you’re able to give four hours every week of your time so that they can have a better day, that’s just colossal.”
With over 150 opportunities in their volunteer database, the VC will surely have something to offer anyone with hopes of making an impact in their community.