COVID-19 UPDATES
Notice to the Community
Last updated: April 1, 2020
Volunteer Sudbury / Bénévolat Sudbury prioritizes the safety of our volunteers, staff, clients, members, and community partners. We continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19 in our community, and would like to provide an update on the known impact as it relates to volunteerism.
Organization Prevention Measures
As an organization, we are taking the following steps to ensure the continuity of our services and ensure public safety during this period:
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Volunteer Sudbury / Bénévolat Sudbury will continue to provide online and phone support to volunteers and members. Any in-person meetings will be rescheduled, or moved to a phone/virtual meeting as needed.
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2nd Annual Velocity Conference has been postponed. All attendees will be receiving an information email for the new date, and registrations will reopen.
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National Volunteer Week Coffee Gram Initiative has been paused, along with other plans for volunteer appreciation by our organization. We are currently reviewing ways to showcase the volunteers in our community virtually.
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Community Presentations or Information Sessions have been paused, and will no longer occur. An effort will be made to offer online presentations about our programs, and we will post these online events on our website, and Facebook page.
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Training Sessions will be postponed, or delivered as a webinar as necessary. Participants will be notified of any changes via email.
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Any future public event opportunities will be evaluated for community risk. More details on other events will become available.
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OFFICE CLOSURE: To ensure the safety of staff, and community members the Volunteer Sudbury / Bénévolat Sudbury office will be closed from Public Access until further notice. All inquires, and meetings will be facilitated virtually. Please contact office@volunteersudbury.com if you would like to set-up a meeting, or call. We will notify the public of any further changes.
Recommendations for Volunteer Engaged Organizations
As a precaution, based on Ontario Ministry of Health guidelines, we recommend volunteers and organizations undertake the following steps to prevent risk and safeguard participants of activities:
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Ensure hand washing stations are available and accessible. Encourage staff, volunteers, and visitors to wash their hands regularly and keep hands away from their face.
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Remind volunteers of the most effective ways to stay healthy by posting or distributing informational posters. (POSTER EN)
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Post signage and advise volunteers who are ill to stay home and/or postpone their volunteer tasks or shifts.
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Post signage and advise volunteers who have travelled to/from affected areas or been exposed to a case of COVID-19 in the last 14 days to postpone volunteering activities.
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Explore the virtual side of volunteering by evaluating and adapting routine tasks into virtual roles, create new virtual roles to meet routine needs, or develop pandemic related needs.
Volunteer Program Continuity
In addition to the steps mentioned above, we encourage all organizations to develop a volunteer program continuity plan should the community risk escalate. As you evaluate considerations, ensure that you keep the following in mind:
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Events: anticipate any upcoming events that need to be modified, cancelled, or postponed.
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Risk to Older Adults/Those with Additional Health Complications: cancel events that are attended by these populations.
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Virtual Volunteering: consider volunteer opportunities that can be done online, so your volunteers can continue to remain involved in your organization. Remote volunteering, or digital meetings may be an effective alternative.
We encourage organizations to contact us at this time if they have needs for virtual volunteering, or would like help to facilitate the process of developing these areas of need.
If you have any questions regarding this notice, please contact our Executive Director, Alanna LaHay, at alanna@volunteersudbury.com.
