Christine Whelan FEO, November 24, 2022, VOL. 4 ISSUE 7
A new platform connecting organizations and businesses to potential volunteers is now available in the Niagara Region.
Flourish is the new creation of three university students who are passionate about helping out. Through their own journeys, they recognized there is a huge potential in volunteering, not only for our community but for personal development. They also noticed that in Niagara, there are several obstacles to finding these perfect opportunities.
The Flourish Team
Claudia Gadinger is in her fourth year of an Accounting BCom Degree at the University of Ottawa. Bart Skala, who is from Fort Erie, is in a BA of International Relations and Philosophy at the University of Rochester. Cosima Rudigier is in a BA of Economics and South Asian Studies at the University of Vienna.
Claudia represented the team in a phone interview with me.
Grand Opening
Flourish’s Grand Opening was on October 27.
“Robin Bannerman, the owner of the Crystal Ball Cafe, very generously offered up her cafe to host a grand opening for us.” Claudia shared. “It was like a networking event, a social for all community organizations, for anyone who wanted to come.”
She continued, “The event was free but we did ask everyone to bring hygiene products and we raised over $700. It was all sent to Strong Fort Erie Neighbourhoods.”
There was entertainment. “Spencer MacKenzie played for us. He was phenomenal.” Spencer is a young, local musician.
“It was a great night.”
Flourish: The Journey to Now
Claudia explained how the trio started their venture. “We talked about the idea in January. We started getting serious in February. By the end of August, we officially launched our website and got started. The month of October was a write-off because we were planning our grand opening.
“It’s been quite a ride but it’s been a lot of work.”
At the time of our interview, the company had 11 posts from different organizations and 10 volunteers on the website. They’ve connected two volunteers with opportunities.
“We’ve partnered with one school, Ridley College. Other than that, we’re trying to get our posters up in the organizations, other schools, and churches to get more volunteers on our website.”
Claudia says their roles are not rigidly defined. “Cosima mostly does social media. I mostly focus on reaching out to organizations. Bart is more of the talker so he’s reaching out to schools.
Schools and Organizations
Flourish doesn’t have anything to do with the screening or matchmaking. The connections happen online between the two parties.
“We host the opportunities. The volunteer connects with the organizations to then apply.”
The website provides the opportunity for the organizations to indicate whether or not they need, for example, a police check and what type of check is needed.
When I asked about other details such as age guidelines, Claudia explained that those details are all up to the individual organizations.
“Something that we are looking at doing in the future is focusing on more short-term options, such as weekend-long opportunities.” They want to have a good mix of short and long term opportunities.
A Peek At The Team’s Mindset
When asked about the driving force that brought the trio to build the service, Claudia provided a couple of stories to help paint the picture. “I grew up very fortunate, with a roof over my head, food, anything I needed. I’ve always had an appreciation for it. I think it drove me to that mindset that drove me to volunteering. Not everyone is as fortunate. I would feel selfish just keeping it all to myself. And I don’t want to. I think we should all share.”
Her first taste of volunteering was on a class trip to Guatemala. She got a sense of how it felt to help others. “Since then, I started volunteering elsewhere.”
Claudia shared some of her Guatemala stories, “We were helping build a school in a community. We had the kids with us that were going to go to the school. We got to speak with the kids, even though there was a language barrier. We got to play with them. It was very interesting to see and get a chance to experience a different lifestyle.
“And we saw how happy they were that we were there helping. They didn’t have a school to go to. Most kids hate going to school because they take it for granted.
“It was very empowering. We were only there for two weeks.”
Claudia’s More Recent Experience: Her Inside Perspective
“I recently started volunteering in Ottawa. I am teaching English to refugees. This is an opportunity that took me two hours to find.”
She continued, “It’s been really interesting, the whole ride. Especially now that we’re doing Flourish. It’s kind of like an insider perspective on volunteering that I can apply and help other people motivate to volunteer,” realizing that it’s easier to talk the talk when you’ve walked the walk.
Claudia commented that the volunteer numbers, in general, have dropped significantly post-pandemic. Many of the volunteers are baby-boomer age and they are at risk of getting sick so they had to stop volunteering. Many services had to go online during the pandemic so volunteers were not needed.
Looking Ahead
“We are also starting a newsletter. We are hoping we will help bridge the gap in connections between organizations through the newsletter.”
Claudia shared that, during the pandemic, there was somewhat of a breakdown in communication between the organizations of helpful information-sharing, for example, when there is a shortage of supplies at one organization or a surplus at another. Flourish is hoping to use its newsletter to bridge connections again.
“We are focusing on the Niagara Region now, but we are hoping to expand.”
As the team of Flourish believes, when there is volunteering, organizations flourish, communities flourish and individuals flourish.
To post yourself as a volunteer, to post your organization, or to just check out the Flourish website: https://flourishniagara.sharetribe.com
Photos provided by Claudia Gadinger
