Volunteers make the work that we do possible. This National Volunteer Week (new window), we want to celebrate all of the volunteers that give their time and skills to make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities.

In an age when being able to use your computer or phone is often a necessity to find work, access resources, and connect with family and friends, it’s our volunteers that make all the difference.

Volunteer tutors work one-on-one with Canadians with disabilities in our Computer Comfort and Distance Computer Comfort programs helping them learn vital digital skills, whether they’re needed for employment, to gain independence, or simply to live life to the fullest.

With each session based entirely on the participant’s needs, our tutors are patient, adaptable, and caring. We regularly hear from our Digital Literacy program participants about the encouragement and confidence they gained thanks to the guidance of our tutors.

Moving over to assistive technology — where commercial options can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars — our volunteers ensure that people can get affordable assistive devices that fit their needs.

Through our Makers Making Change (new window) program, volunteers have helped us deliver over 27,000 devices to persons with disabilities around the world. In build events, corporate volunteers (new window), students (new window), and people from all walks of life build switches and adapt toys that often are donated (new window) to children with disabilities and their families, and clinics across Canada — for many kids, it’s the first time they are able to play independently.

Clubs That Care (new window) youth leaders engage volunteers in their community and host self-directed build events furthering the impact. Meanwhile, volunteer makers in Canada and beyond answer individual device requests (new window) on the Makers Making Change website, ensuring that each specification meets the requestor’s needs simply for the cost of parts.

Our Society’s foundations were built on the innovative work of volunteers when our founder Bill Cameron led a group of volunteer engineers and occupational therapists in the early 1980’s to help his cousin Neil Squire, our namesake, live more independently. Before long, this mission soon expanded to help others with disabilities with programs like Computer Comfort. Over 40 years later, volunteers help us reach more persons with disabilities than ever before.

“I want to thank our volunteers for the time and care they give. The support they provide makes a real difference for Canadians with disabilities. Programs like Distance Computer Comfort and Computer Comfort would not exist without their time, skill, and commitment,” says Gordon Watt, our Distance Training Coordinator leading our Distance Computer Comfort program. (Gordon pictured above on the right with Digital Literacy volunteers Matthew and Harvey).

Gordon knows the importance of volunteering — he first joined us as a volunteer tutor 15 years ago. Having moved to Canada from Scotland, he was looking for work experience and a way to make connections. Soon, however, he found a passion for teaching digital literacy skills and eventually joined our team. Today, he supports both tutors and participants in a job he loves.

“I started as a volunteer, and it changed the direction of my career,” Gordon says. “After moving to Canada from Scotland, volunteering gave me the chance to gain experience and show what I could do. It led directly to where I am today.”

Thank you to all of our volunteers who have given so much to make a difference. We truly couldn’t have done this without you.

If you would like to volunteer with us, please visit our Volunteer Opportunities page.