Calgary’s not-for-profit organizations will gather in search of volunteers next week, for the first volunteer fair in nearly three years.  

Volunteers are invited to attend the fair on April 29 between 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., with food insecurity and youth mentorship among the causes that will be represented. More than 600 people have pre-registered to attend.  

The venue, the Downtown University of Calgary Campus, will house 61 organizations and is the most the fair has had. The number of organizations represented is nearly double that of the previous event, 32. 

The free-to-attend fair was held in 2018, 2019 and 2022, was not held during COVID-19 and took the years since 2022 to rebuild and plan.

This year’s event takes place during National Volunteer Week and is the first to be held in April. It is recognized as a National Volunteer Week feature site.  The three previous were held in October and September.  

“The reason we wanted to try it in springtime this year was because there are a lot of events in the summertime that get overlooked and this way it’s a bit more timely for them,” said Alexandra Kryska Grams, president and co-founder of the YYC volunteer fair society

Upcoming events include Calgary Folk Music Festival, Rotary International Convention and Run Calgary.

The event is supported by organizations like Volunteer Alberta, the Government of Alberta, and the Calgary Foundation.

Kryska Grams said that volunteering is at a post-pandemic low. 

“We’ve lost a lot of volunteer capability and volunteer spirit, not just in Calgary, this is everywhere. We’re really hoping that we can help reignite that spark and reignite those conversations,” she said. 

Kryska Grams that people being wary to walk into an organization they don’t know, being worried that their skill set does not match an organization, and not knowing about the need for volunteers are among the main reasons for the declining participation. 

She hopes that events like the volunteer fair can break the barrier of uncertainty and recruit volunteers. 

“60 per cent of people say they volunteer just because their friends or someone else they know does,” she said. 

Calgary volunteer experiences can be fulfilling

Kryska Grams said that volunteering not only helps a cause and builds community, but it can also be very fulfilling for the volunteer. 

“The world is a tough place, it has been for a while. It’s very polarized. It feels like there’s a lot of just tension, and when all that’s going on and all that negativity is out there, it can be tough to find the good. This gives you something positive to focus on,” she said. 

“If you don’t want to do it for the good of everybody else, that’s fine. It’s really great for you, too.” 

Kryska Grams said that many online volunteer boards exist, but in using them, volunteers lack the ability to get to know an organization face-to-face.  

“What we thought was missing was conversation and being able to talk about the types of roles available, but also what that really feels like, really get a sense for the role, the organization, the people you would be working with,” she said. 

“In our minds, that can really happen best through conversation.” 

Upon its creation, the fair took inspiration from similar events throughout North America, Kryska Grams said, highlighting the Chicago Volunteer Fair.  

“It just felt like there was a bit of a missing piece to the whole volunteerism landscape in our city,” she said.  

The wide variety of organizations represented helps ensure that any potential volunteers can find a cause they relate to, according to Kryska Grams.  

“We want to make sure that we offer all these diverse offerings in one space, so that it’s easy to come in, check out a few of them, and start to get a sense for what’s out there,” she said.  

Kryska Grams said that the fair is all about breaking down barriers, a main reason why the fair remains free to attend. 

“Volunteers give so much, they give their time, they often pay to volunteer. If you’re at an event downtown, you pay for parking. Sometimes you have to eat your meals out, so you’re paying for meals. A lot of times it costs people to volunteer in terms of hard cash,” she said.