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For 111 years, Frontier College has relied on the power of volunteers to deliver its literacy programs across Canada. As Canada's original literacy organization, Frontier College has been recruiting volunteers to work with Canadian children, youth and adults from coast to coast since 1899. Since then, our programs have helped millions of Canadians improve their literacy skills.
Volunteers are the foundation of Frontier College and have been since the very beginning. The Frontier College story began when founder, Alfred Fitzpatrick, saw the need to educate those who didn’t have access to traditional learning opportunities. At the time, this need was felt most deeply in places like the bush, on the railway and in the mines. So, it was on the “frontiers” that Frontier College sent volunteer teachers who worked alongside labourers by day, and taught them to read and write at night.
Today, the commitment of our volunteers is as strong as ever. A network of over 2,000 Frontier College volunteers work on Canada’s new frontiers — inner city schools , women’s shelters, public housing sites, community centres, farms, prisons and in Aboriginal communities. Each year, our volunteers work with more than 16,000 learners to deliver programs like Reading Circles, Homework Clubs, Adult One-To-One Tutoring and various summer and year round programs. Frontier College volunteers bring literacy and learning to Canadians everywhere.
National Volunteer Week pays tribute to the millions of Canadian volunteers who donate their time and energy. Without the support of Frontier College’s dedicated volunteers, it would be impossible to deliver literacy programs to the people who need them. Here, we profile some of our exceptional volunteers from across the country. Read on to find out what they do and why they love it.
Lorraine Gibson, volunteer with Frontier College in Leamington, ON
Victoria Weaver, volunteer with Frontier College in Hamilton, ON
Nathalie McDuff, Volunteer with Frontier College in Montreal, QC
Neil McBurney, volunteer with Frontier College in Vancouver, BC
Renee Chapman – volunteer with Frontier College in Halifax, NS
Lorraine Gibson, volunteer with Frontier College in Leamington, ON
Lorraine Gibson has gone above and beyond to help migrant workers in Leamington, Ontario for the past three years.She teaches two sessions each summer in the evenings when the workers are done their jobs in the field. For many migrant workers, getting to a literacy class poses a problem. After a long day in the fields, many workers aren’t able to ride their bikes to classes in the dark for safety reasons. Naturally, Lorraine has found a solution! Currently, she is busy teaching at a local church each Sunday after Spanish mass. This way, she is able to make literacy training safe and easily accessible.
Lorraine’s dedication is endless. In addition to volunteering with migrant workers, she is also a Reading Buddy at elementary local school where she reads with children who need extra help.
Lorraine is active in the community promoting Frontier College’s literacy programs. She is always willing to pass out flyers at the local grocery stores, restaurants and to the workers socializing on the streets of Leamington.
When asked why she devotes so much time and effort to tutoring, Lorraine says she does it as a form of gratitude for all the great tutors who made an impact in her life. Frontier College is proud to recognize Lorraine for her dedication to improving literacy and the lives of those in her community.
Victoria Weaver, volunteer with Frontier College in Hamilton, ON
Victoria Weaver has been a dedicated and committed volunteer tutor with Frontier College since 2007. She volunteers 4 to 5 days per week while balancing her school work load and other volunteer activities. Victoria volunteers in classrooms, at homework clubs and at a reading circle. This year, Victoria has donated over 170 hours of her time.
“Volunteering with Frontier College over the past three years has made me certain in my decision to become more involved in the education sector, and work with students as a career,” she says.
Victoria stands out as a volunteer tutor because of the stories we heard from our community partners and program leaders about her creative and unique tutoring approaches and strategies to help students learn.
Victoria’s favourite creative strategy comes from her first weeks at one of the homework clubs, where she created a math concentration-type card game with a grade two student. The student asked to continue to play the game during futures sessions and they were able to use it as a reward for completing other math work.
Victoria was also involved with Frontier College’s Aboriginal Summer Camps in northern communities for the past two summers.
We recognize Victoria for her commitment and encouragement in helping students achieve their potential. Victoria will soon graduate from McMaster University in the Arts and Science program. Because of her love of literacy and working with students, she will be continuing her studies at teacher’s college this September.
I think Victoria should be a teacher because when she is in our classroom she always helps us with our work and she never gets upset with us. She is always calm and makes sure we do good on our work. Victoria is always kind to us and when she is around she can help about three people at one time and she is also tall so she can see everybody at once. That’s why I think she should be a teacher.
Grade 4 student
Nathalie McDuff, Volunteer with Frontier College in Montreal, QC
Nathalie McDuff has been an extraordinarily dedicated Frontier College volunteer since 2006. She has been involved with our Guerilla Literacy Program, a first response literacy program where volunteers teach French as a Second Language (FSL) to recently arrived migrant women. Nathalie’s experience with Frontier College has not only been rewarding for her learners -often stay at home mothers with young children who desire to learn French to help their child with homework or to easily interact in their daily lives- it also has become a career path for her future. After completing a BA in cinematography, Nathalie, with 3 years of volunteering as an FSL teacher under her belt, decided to embark on another 4 year adventure at l'Université du Québec à Montréal, to obtain a degree in FSL teaching.
In addition to her strong commitment to her learners, Nathalie has given countless hours to the literacy cause and to Frontier College by joining one of our organizational teams to help spread the word about literacy and to help out with volunteer recruitment and training. She also got involved in our Summer Reading Tent Program which aims to promote family literacy in marginalized neighborhoods of Montreal.
Back in September, the Quebec Ministry of Employment and Social Solidarity selected Nathalie as a represtentative for its province-wide campaign for the promotion of volunteerism. They could not have made a better choice! Here is what Nathalie has to say about the benefits of volunteering :
"Volunteering doesn’t just mean devoting time and energy to a cause close to your heart. It’s also an opportunity to develop skills and discover talents. This can be a major asset from the occupational viewpoint. Indeed, I got my first two jobs by doing volunteer work. Volunteering also allows you to meet friendly, generous people with whom you share affinities and can enjoy pleasant times. Finally, volunteering means doing your share, but it’s also a chance to learn more about yourself. "
Neil McBurney, volunteer with Frontier College in Vancouver, BC
Neil McBurney always goes the extra mile in helping the live-in caregivers of Vancouver. For four years now, he has provided weekly one-on-one ESL tutorial sessions to domestic workers who are usually women from Eastern Europe, Latin America and South East Asia. Mostly in their twenties and thirties, these learners work hard to meet the requirements for permanent residence. Neil teaches English to them and at the same time helps them get acquainted with the Canadian way of life. He even extends his assistance to his former learners when they seek his advice on resumes and interviews for other employment prospects. Often when he doesn’t have the specific knowledge the learner wants, he will make referrals to the appropriate resources or organizations.
Neil’s commitment to Frontier College has been proven and tested. He helps out in workshops for tutor volunteers and caregivers, attends social gatherings and assists in events like the Scrabble Fundraising event. In addition to his active involvement in Frontier College, he also volunteers in other organizations promoting literacy and community building. He assists new immigrants, records transcripts for visually-challenged people, reads with mostly immigrant children in a local elementary school, participates in weekly dance workshops for the Downtown Eastside residents and helps out in a seniors’ centre. Nothing seems to stop this 70-year old!
Neil says he doesn’t like the word “retirement,” so he finds volunteering a way to keep active in a personally satisfying way. He likes being able to share skills and knowledge that others value. Frontier College salutes Neil for his invaluable contribution in promoting literacy and in helping build community.
Renee Chapman – volunteer with Frontier College in Halifax, NS
Renee began volunteering back in September of 2009. Although she hasn’t been a volunteer for long, her impact has been incredible. Even as a single mom to two young boys, Renee volunteers each week with Frontier College’s adult immigrant family literacy programs. She is especially popular with adult learners – they gravitate towards her because she relates so well to their literacy needs. Renee had dropped out of high school, but later received her GED, went to college and is now in University! She shows a genuine understanding of the challenges that many Frontier College learners face when returning to school as an adult and for those newcomers who are anxious to improve their English language skills so they can fully participate in Canadian society.
As a busy mom attending the University of St. Anne's to study French this summer, we salute Renee for her commitment to literacy and helping adults in her community.
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