Looking for a meaningful volunteer role? Retirees can bring experience, knowledge, enthusiasm and, yes, energy to not-for-profit organizations that rely on volunteers to deliver their services, to provide mentoring, to undertake research and/or to complete projects.
Volunteering is a good way to stay socially active, meet new people, contribute to meaningful initiatives and stay connected to York University and to the broader community.
On this page, YURA will post volunteer opportunities that are brought to our attention, some of which are for organizations looking for York University retirees specifically.
Society of Sharing
February 26, 2025
Society of Sharing is working on a project called Seniors Supporting Seniors, and our goal is to recruit volunteers aged 65 and over who have various skills and expertise to support our senior clients.
Society of Sharing is a non-profit organization that mobilizes volunteers to serve isolated, housebound, and lonely seniors in Toronto's inner-city since 1981. The agency’s goal is to reduce social isolation, promote social connection, and improve the well-being of seniors so they may remain connected in their communities and are able to live independently in their own homes. Our clients often request older volunteers as they feel more comfortable receiving help from someone closer to their own age.
“We are looking for volunteers aged 65 and above!
Do you want to reach out and make social connections with isolated seniors? Or support a senior with getting to medical appointments and providing access to groceries? Society of Sharing has a volunteer role for you.
For more information, please visit our website at www.societyofsharing.org or contact our Recruitment & Training Specialist at vrts@societyofsharing.org.
Ramya Sivakumaran, Volunteer Recruiter, Society of Sharing, 25 Linden St. #208, Toronto
York University Retirees’ Association Office
The YURA Office is staffed by volunteers on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. from September to June. Volunteer staff welcome visitors, respond to calls, provide information and perform administrative duties. Having some computer skills would be an asset.
If interested, please email yura@yorku.ca or phone 416.736.2100 extn. 70664.
YU-CARE - York University Centre for Aging Research & Education
The aim of YU-CARE is to support and promote the work of its researchers and graduate trainees who study changes, challenges and policies to support aging at individual, organizational, and societal levels. Click here for the YU-CARE web site.
YURA has an ongoing collaborative relationship with YU-CARE, and a member of YURA’s Executive Committee serves on the Executive Board of YU-CARE. Our Association is committed to supporting the work of YU-CARE researchers, in areas such as healthy aging, aging equity, and care practices and delivery.
Studies explore ageism; aging policy; practices to promote healthy aging; approaches to aging equity; the social determinants of health; cultural diversity and aging; gender; physiological and biomechanical processes; cognitive and psychological diseases and approaches to improve care; and care settings including hospital, home and long-term care.
YURA members can be ideal research subjects for projects conducted by YU-CARE researchers. If you are interested in having your name added to a list of volunteers, please contact Adam Charnow, YU-CARE Administrative Coordinator, at yu_care@yorku.ca or phone 416.736.2100 extn. 22896. As specific opportunities arise, you will be notified of them and you can then decide about serving as a research subject on a particular project.
University Women's Club of North York
The University Women’s Club of North York is a voluntary organization dedicated to improving the lives of women and supporting the education of women and girls.
The organization provides many opportunities for members to connect with one another through monthly meetings with guest speakers, interested groups, advocacy initiatives, fundraising opportunities, scholarships and lots more!
UWCNY is always welcoming new members looking for an opportunity to learn and socialize with other like-minded women.
More information can be found in this brochure (click here) or by contacting Oksana Deacon at 647.294.9337 or oksana_deacon@rogers.com
East York Meals on Wheels
June 15, 2023
East York Meals on Wheels uses a volunteer-based model to deliver nutritious and culturally appropriate meals to people in need in East Toronto, specifically in Thorncliffe and Flemingdon Park. Our dedicated volunteers are an integral part of our mission, and this year, our team delivered an agency’s best 43,000 meals!
This summer, we are asking for your help recruiting volunteers through your website or social media platforms to dedicate themselves to delivering meals to seniors, new mothers, and those living with a disability. We provide meals Sunday through Friday from 11:00 am -1:00 pm. You would be surprised how much this benefits the volunteers themselves! Any support you can provide would be warmly received and will help us Feed the Need in East York this summer!
Please contact:
Rafael Granado, East York Meals on Wheels
Phone: 416-424-3322 ex. 2230
Email: volunteer@eastyorkmealsonwheels.org
Address: Unit#52 - 2 Thorncliffe Park Drive, Toronto, ON M4H 1H2
Website: www.eastyorkmealsonwheels.org
S.H.A.R.E. Agriculture Foundation
S.H.A.R.E., Sending Help And Resources Everywhere, is a Canadian registered Charity that was founded in 1976 by a small group of farmers with the assistance of the OMAF Agriculture Representative for Peel, Bob Bell and Minister of Agriculture, William Stewart. Over the last five decades this not-for-profit organization has supported countless families in the early days in Brazil, the Caribbean and Africa, and more recently in Honduras, El Salvador, Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti, Bolivia and even across the world in Cambodia.
We are looking for one or two people to write blogs for our website. We would also be interested in someone with website (WordPress and Oxygen) experience. Anyone interested should forward a note or resumé to Gary Shaw at the email address below. Our work is to ‘provide a hand up not a hand out’ and we work in the following countries at this time: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti, Cambodia, Belize and Bolivia.
Our website is https://shareagfoundation.org/about/
Gary Shaw, Executive Director – S.H.A.R.E. Agriculture Foundation
Email: gshaw@shareagfoundation.org
ENGin - Volunteer Online: Help Ukrainians Learn English
ENGin is a nonprofit organization that connects young Ukrainians with English-speaking volunteers for free one-on-one online English language practice and cross-cultural exchange. The organization, founded in March 2020 by Ukrainian-American Katerina Manoff, has as its mission to help a generation of young Ukrainians improve their spoken English and intercultural skills.
There is an urgent need at present. All English speakers are welcome to volunteer with us; ENGin provides training and resources and no prior experience or knowledge of Ukrainian is needed. The commitment is just 1 hour/week (volunteers choose the day and time). Anyone age 14+ is eligible, although the greatest need is for adult volunteers. ENGin Volunteers are making a lasting impact in the lives of Ukrainians by equipping them with skills needed to access better academic and professional opportunities, navigate the refugee process, and eventually rebuild their country. Click here for an ENGin flyer about its program -- and please share it with others. Anyone interested or willing to volunteer in this program is encouraged to do contact us.
More about our program can be found on our website www.enginprogram.org.
Alternatively, you can contact Niranjana (Nina) Sivaji at ENGin, email: n.sivaji@enginprogram.org
North York General Hospital
Volunteers are needed to assist patients and families finding their way around the facility/clinics at the General Site, located at 4001 Leslie Street, Toronto, just south of Sheppard Ave. East.
Volunteers are also needed to enhance the patient experience in a number of roles.
Click here for more information.
Other
More volunteer opportunities for seniors in a variety of sectors can be found at the Province of Ontario Seniors website, Volunteering and Community Engagement.