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Summary of Karen's speech at the ADVR AGM 2006
Karen Lynch, Volunteer Alberta
Synopsis by Janet Burstall, ADVR www.advr.ab.ca
Our guest speaker for May was the enthusiastic and engaging Karen Lynch of Volunteer Alberta. Karen spoke of the overall health of the voluntary sector in Canada and in Alberta, highlighting the changes in the sector due to the competition for funds and people. Also, due to perceived duplication of services, organizations are experiencing difficulty in communicating their messages and in effectively communicating their unique services.
Karen spoke heartily of the impact of the voluntary sector in Canada and in particular the value of volunteers. She spoke of an accord in the works between our sector and the Alberta government that would increase awareness of the issues facing the voluntary sector and establish better lines of communication.
Common challenges in the Voluntary sector include sustainable core funding and benefits for employees. Volunteer Alberta is aware of these problems and works with government and national bodies to provide solutions, such as the insurance toolkit, to be offered to organizations to help them assess risk and evaluate their insurance needs.
Karen also highlighted a few things available on their website that are of interest - free downloadable pictures of volunteers and professional development funding available to employees in the sector.
For more information, check out Volunteer Alberta's detailed and user friendly website at: www.volunteeralberta.ab.ca.