Volunteerism

When the call recently went out from the First Unitarian Fellowship of Nanaimo for assistance with the operation of their Emergency Weather Shelter, some of us cohos signed up for volunteer shifts.

This got me thinking about the relationship of Pacific Gardens Cohousing Community to the neighbourhood of Harewood (in which our strata complex is located) and the even wider community of Nanaimo.

Just off the top of my head (and without having taken a formal survey), I can think of several volunteer organizations in which our members are involved:

Co-operative Auto Network - Car sharing club.

Emergency Weather Shelter - operated by First Unitarian Fellowship of Nanaimo.


Food Link Nanaimo - Linking people and food in Nanaimo.

Freecycle Network - Grassroots, nonprofit movement of people who give (and receive) stuff for free and keep good stuff out of the landfill.

Global Village - During the Christmas season, volunteers operate a retail outlet that sells goods produced under fair trade, non-exploitative practices. Many of them come from developing countries.

Green Drinks Nanaimo - Holds informal monthly discussions about the environment and sustainability.

Harewood Community Centre Cooperative - A group that seeks to establish a community centre that focuses on the provision of health care (both conventional and alternative) in the neighbourhood of Harewood.

Literacy Nanaimo - Promotes literacy for all individuals.

Moya Centre - An organization that assists victims of HIV/AIDS in Swaziland, Africa.

Nanaimo & Area Land Trust (NALT) - Promotes and protects the natural values of land in the Nanaimo area.


Nanaimo Community Gardens - Helps Nanaimo residents to achieve food security.

Nanaimo Ebbtides Master Swim Club

Political campaigns - Some of our members have worked on the campaigns of candidates who were running for political office at the municipal, provincial and federal levels.