The United Nations has proclaimed 2026 as International Volunteer Year, a designation that comes at a time when volunteering is on the decline. Saturday marks the end of National Volunteer week, a campaign to celebrate volunteerism in communities across Canada. The theme this year is “ignite volunteerism,” which Volunteer Canada Board member Ambuj Laroiya says is a way to redefine volunteerism. “We used to see volunteering as something that was required out of our day jobs, out of our busy schedules but now we’re trying to change the narrative, we’re trying to say that we need to re-energize the spirit of how we are in the community by doing, just, small acts of kindness,” he says. Laroiya says Volunteer Canada has been developing a National Volunteer Action strategy over the last year. They intend to support and organize a roadmap to how people can volunteer, then connect them with different stakeholders. “Like the governments, like the public sector, like the private sector, and bringing everyone together and letting them know how their work in the community is meaningful,” says Laroiya. He points to community fragmentation that’s occurred over the years as a part of declining volunteerism. “With the pandemic, with the rising costs of living, with all other pressures that are coming in, there’s a real sense of existential dread,” he says. “Because of that, people are not able to find time towards volunteering and so, the demand from the community has gone significantly up, unfortunately the supply hasn’t kept along with it.” For Laroiya, he manages to volunteer in his day-to-day schedule by starting small. “I think when someone says, ‘I don’t have time,’ I think it’s not the time but it’s a question of motivation, how do I find the motivation? And sometimes motivation doesn’t come just by sitting, it comes by taking the smallest action possible,” he says. “It doesn’t mean that I have to log big hours or have fancy titles that I’m showing to the world that I volunteer.” Laroiya also notes how good it feels to help as a volunteer, saying it always makes him want to do it again. “When someone asks for help, my hand is always up,” he says.
