The Helping Hands Society of Cochrane and Area is seeking passionate members of the community to submit their applications to help fill open seats on their board of directors.
Helping Hands executive director, Laura McDonald, said the group is a registered charity in Canada, which operates with a board of directors.
“That board is here to advise on the strategy of Helping Hands and to oversee the governance of Helping Hands,” she explained. “So basically, as executive director, I work really closely with the board to make sure that we are out there in Cochrane delivering on our mission, out mandate, and our vision. The Board are kind of my partners in all of that.
McDonald said that they are currently looking for experienced volunteers to help bolster their diverse board of directors, and she encourages all passionate community members to apply.
“We are looking for folks who are passionate about volunteerism, and folk who are passionate about growing Helping Hands as a force for the community building that we achieve here in town,” McDonald said.
Board members are expected to attend monthly board meetings, alongside committees that board members participate on. These committees can range from finance, human resources, and even fundraising.
“That last one in particular is very important as a charity,” she added. “We hold our large annual fundraiser, which is the Coldest Night of the Year, and then of course we fundraise throughout the year, whether it’s building our individual donor campaign or working with local corporations.”
Helping Hands works to connect volunteers with people in the community who need support through innovative programming and collaborative responses.
“We’re hoping in the future that our work builds a more resilient Cochrane,” McDonald said. “For 2024, our volunteers are on track to have worked over 13,000 hours of community impact or Cochrane. That is a 30 per cent growth over 2023.”
With volunteers working every day, she notes that they’re constantly working towards improving Cochrane wherever they can.
“They’re reducing isolation in the community, offering compassion, helping people get their groceries, helping people stay independent and age in place in their homes, [and] they’re doing food rescue, rescuing 12,000 kg of food in a month and diverting that back into the community,” she said. “That 13,000 hours is impressive on its own, but every one of those hours is spend on building a stronger, more connected Cochrane.”
Helping Hands Volunteer, Lyle Balmer, said that he’s given countless hours for their cause. On a personal note, he said it truly makes him feel like he’s contributing to the community at a grassroots level.
“It’s a very rewarding organization to work for,” Balmer said. “I can’t just say enough how good it feels to have boots on the ground, and it’s very much interactive and face-to-face for with people who just need help. And Helping Hands does all of that.”
As per applicants themselves, McDonald said they are looking for individuals with experience in areas like finance, fundraising, governance, risk management and mitigation, marketing, and communications.
“For anyone who is interested, we ask for you to send your resume, a little bit of your background, and why you’re interested to our human resources board member, who heads our HR committee, at [email protected],” McDonald said.
The deadline for applications is Oct. 31. More information on Helping Hands can be found online by visiting www.helpinghandscochrane.ca.
