Goodbye 2017, Hello 2018!

As 2017 has come to a close and 2018 is upon us, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on our many successes in the last year:

  1. Social Media 

    Because of extended staffing capabilities we were able to add a new platform (Instagram). Since starting it in May of 2017, we have made 170 posts, gained 135 followers, received over 3,500 likes and made over 8,000 impressions on unique users.

    We also became more active on Facebook and Twitter by trying to post 4+ times a week. 

    On Facebook, we were able to post 197 times from May 2017 until now. Within those posts we were able reach nearly 30,000 people.

    Our Twitter has been our main social media interaction with our members. It has been our simplest way of supporting our member’s activities. On only our posts alone, we have been able to make impressions on nearly 40,000 people. 

 

  1. CCVI (Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement)

 

In March, Spencer Wyllie joined the OVCN team as our Project Coordinator. Since March, she has accomplished many amazing milestones. She continues to regulate communications with our partners Volunteer Toronto, Volunteer Canada, Volunteer MBC, and the People and Information Network. With their help, we were able to launch our online curriculum, and set up multiple in-person training sessions for the new year. These in-person sessions include the following dates and locations:

 

January 9, 2018 – London, ON
January 15, 2018 – Brantford, ON
January 22, 2018 – Peterborough, ON
February 5, 2018 – Sault Ste. Marie, ON

 

More to be announced!

 

  1. Annual Provincial Conference

 

This year, our annual provincial conference was a huge success. We were able to provide many useful sessions, including our “Train-the-Trainer” session for CCVI. With the guidance of Jane Scognamillo and assistance of our new administrative assistant, Lauren Galenkamp, we were able to host one of our best conferences yet.

 

Another unique session we were able to host was a networking session about fundraising. We had 3 different Volunteer Centres from across Ontario present a fundraising method and give guidance on their respective method.

 

We were also able to give an update to the network about everything OVCN. Through this session, led by OVCN General Manager Cody Palmer-Almond, we were also able to get feedback to help us create our future strategic plan.

 

As we embark upon a new year, we look forward to new years’ adventures in:

  1. Organizational Development

 

2018 will continue to see the Ontario Volunteer Centre Network grow in terms of reach and support provided across the province. One of the goals of 2018 is to engage more members in OVCN activities. This will include a new membership drive, as well as engaging new partners and stakeholders from various sectors across the province.

 

  1. Member Portal

 

One of the most exciting features that will be enhanced in 2018 is our OVCN Member Portal. This will become a great resource for OVCN Volunteer Centres, housing wonderful and informative resources and templates for use in their local communities. The “Stronger Together” tagline of OVCN is never more applicable than in the great resource and knowledge sharing possible across Ontario.

 

  1. CCVI Training

 

As mentioned earlier, we have multiple dates booked across Ontario for in-person training sessions. If you are not near to any of the existing sessions, do not worry, there are more training sessions to come in other places across Ontario.

 

If you are an organization who has not yet applied for training, we are excited to say that there are still subsidies remaining and you still have an opportunity to apply for FREE training on the Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement. You can find more information, as well as sign up, by going to our CCVI tab on the OVCN website (www.ovcn.ca).


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