“The measure of a country’s greatness should be based on how well it cares for its most vulnerable populations.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
WSC has successfully completed the pilot Community Worker program funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation – Resilient Communities Fund
Through this project, WSC was able to recover from impacts of Covid-19 by rebuilding capacity and delivering programs and services in innovative ways that helped disadvantaged communities adapt to the post-pandemic reality.
The new program allowed new Community Worker program graduates to effectively serve as ambassadors and advocates their community:
- A hybrid course delivery format allowed WSC to serve a broader community including Peel and York Regions
- A new and much needed program Community Service Worker helped WSC clients secure careers or become effective volunteers in the non-profit sector.
- The hands-on experiential learning format was a proven success, students were able to successfully plan and deliver 3 outreach projects at area Senior’s residences:
- Janet Magee Manor – Cooking Demo
- Montgomery Place – Board Games; Afternoon tea
Montgomery Place – Letter of Support/Appreciation
These events helped bring communities together after Covid-19 isolation. Many participants stated that these kinds of services are the most needed while undergoing post-pandemic recovery and managing inflationary economic realities.
Testimonials
Ilona M.
I am a newcomer from Ukraine. I came to Canada in 2023 and not long after arriving in Canada I connected with WSC. They had some free programs including an experiential learning program for people wanting to work or volunteer in the non-profit sector. My community work experiential learning project focused on implementing an outreach strategy to inform members of the public about the services at WSC. Within three months I had recruited 100 clients from the Ukrainian community many in need of settlement services, employment and training. The next part of my experiential learning project was to help clients with their inquiries. It was a steep learning curve as I gained knowledge about health services, food banks, dental services, housing resources and employment and training resources.
As a result of the knowledge gained through the program at Working Skills Centre I was able to volunteer at another community organization, Canadian Ukrainian Immigrant Aid Society.
Now I am working for a small company as a bookkeeper. While working I continue to volunteer in the community helping Ukrainian newcomers.
Leila B.
My name is Leila. I came to Canada many years ago. My home country is Lebanon. I had worked as a lawyer in Lebanon. I wanted to pursue my career in Canada but someone told me it would take about eight years of study. This was the wrong advice but I did not know it at the time. So instead of looking at pathways to a career in the legal field I went to college and did a business administration diploma.
With this education I was able to find office jobs and worked as an executive secretary for a long time. I had an accident in 2020 and now I am in a wheelchair. I have not been able to work since my accident. I connected with an organization working with people with disabilities and told them I wanted to devote some time to updating my skills.
They referred me to Working Skills Centre. I was so happy that there were free courses available that I could enroll in right away. The timing was perfect. I enrolled in the community worker program and related courses including digital literacy and business writing.
The community worker program was a new pilot career development program for those who wanted to work or volunteer in the not-for-profit sector. Participating in this program was an enjoyable experience. I learnt many new skills including managing conflict, event planning and fundraising. The best part was working with others on a team project. We got to know each other really well and I continue to meet socially with some of the members. Our team worked with the social club at a Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation building and we jointly organized a cooking demonstration and lunch. The social club told us that many of the residents had become isolated during the pandemic and would possibly be reluctant to come down and participate in the event we were planning. However, this was not the case. All the seats were taken up. The event turned out to be a great success. They want us to come back and do another event!
The event and the planning meetings were in-person. It was so wonderful to work with my team-mates, the social club at Janet Magee Manor and the WSC staff on a face-to-face basis. Thanks to Wheel-trans I was able to get to all the planning meetings. At the event which took place on March 24, I was in charge of a segment where we demonstrated stretch exercises. The participation from senior residents was amazing. They came forward and joined in with the exercises!
I was so happy to be part of the program: I gained new skills, I gained new friends and we had an impact on the community. Having completed this program, I want to use the knowledge and experience in my volunteer work with my church. I have been a volunteer for many years, helping with administrative duties and managing the church database. The church does important social work in the community including sponsoring refugee families. I feel I am now able to support this work with renewed energy. I have a better understanding of the context in which non-profit organizations operate and practical knowledge of community resources. The experiential learning component gave me work experience that I can add to my resume. In community work, as in real life not everything goes smoothly. There are many challenges, meeting deadlines, setting boundaries, solving disagreements. You learn a lot from your mistakes. The experience helps you grow and become more confident.
Thank you to the Trillium Foundation for providing funding to WSC to run the pilot program. I hope they are now able to get support to expand the program.