Help others, help yourself with Community Action Projects

One of the best ways to take a study break and feel great is to get involved with a volunteer initiative! It's hard for any student to take on commitments outside of the classroom — but volunteering is fun, rewarding, and gives you a sense of accomplishment that you are helping to make your community a better one. I've written before about my experience doing service learning with the Centre for Community Partnerships (check out that post here). While service learning is a bit different from volunteering, the experience reminded me how much I enjoy being an active, contributing member of my community, and I've sought out other volunteer opportunities in the city since finishing up with my service learning placement.

If you want to give volunteering a try, a great place to start is the Centre for Community Partnerships' (CCP) Community Action Projects! CCP Community Action Projects allow you to get involved with a community initiative in terms of 4-10 months. So what are some of the projects you can try your hand at? 1. Read stories to children. To help develop children's literacy, the Toronto District School Board has a program called From 3 to 3 wherein volunteers read to students, many of whom speak English as a second language and come from diverse cultural backgrounds. Learn more about this project on the CCP website.

2. Become a tutor. The Homework Club is a partnership with several organizations that allows you tutor students ages 6-12 to help them succeed in the student. You will be provided with training to become a tutor and will learn about mentorship, education, and leadership. Learn more about this project on the CCP website. 3. Become a friendly visitor. By becoming a Friendly Visitor at Kensington Garden, you can learn about working in long-term care facilities and make friends. You'll be provided with training and plenty of support to come to the home once or twice a week and make one of their residents smile. Learn more about this project on the CCP website.   These are just some of the many amazing opportunities offered as Community Action Projects! Learn more about other projects and the CAP program on the CCP website, and go to CAP drop-in hours at the CCP office on the third floor of 569 Spadina Avenue (Suite 315) on Wednesdays from 2:30-4:00 p.m.