Application Guidelines
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Together Project.
Volunteering in a Welcome Group requires patience, proactivity, and significant commitment - you will be working in a frontline role with newcomers with complex needs, which is a responsibility that should be taken seriously.
You must be 18 and older to volunteer for Together Project.
Together Project currently works with both Government-Assisted Refugees and Refugee Claimants. Government Assisted Refugees are individuals identified for resettlement through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and who are supported by the government upon arrival in Canada. Refugee claimants are individuals who have fled their country and are asking for protection in Canada. We don’t know whether a claimant is a refugee or not until their case has been decided.
Please review our Application Guidelines (including the Letter of Understanding) below before applying:
I understand and agree that submitting this application form does not automatically register me as a volunteer, and that there may be certain qualifications and/or screening procedures that must be completed.
By submitting this application, I attest that the information I am providing is true and accurately represented to the best of my abilities. I furthermore authorize Together Project to use all of the information I have provided as part of my application to volunteer for the purposes of processing my application and/or contacting me.
I understand that the information provided will only be used as part of my application to volunteer with Together Project, and will never be shared with third parties or for reasons other than stated above. You can review Together Project's policies in more depth by clicking this link.
By submitting this application form, you also agree to the terms of Together Project's Volunteer Letter of Understanding:
- I commit to regularly engaging my group's refugee or refugee claimant newcomer counterpart household, ideally on a weekly basis, for a minimum period of 3 months from the date we are introduced.
- I will undertake a Criminal Record & Judicial Matters or Vulnerable Sector Check, or provide one that is no more than a year old.
- I agree to take part in training workshops and review training materials provided by Together Project that concern how to effectively volunteer with vulnerable newcomers.
- I understand that there is no legal or financial obligation or responsibility as a result of my participation in Together Project, and that any financial and/or material support to the newcomer(s) I am matched with is strongly discouraged.
- I understand that any potential misunderstanding or conflict between my Welcome Group and matched newcomer household should be brought to the attention of Together Project staff. Whenever possible, I will ensure that I will always be joined by at least one other Welcome Group member for in-person interaction with a household.
- I agree to respect the privacy of newcomer program participants, and I shall not solicit personal information beyond the scope of this project and/or file, store, or share information about program participants without their explicit consent.
- I shall not use information about newcomer program participants for any personal benefit or any interest other than their own. I shall not accept payment for services provided.
- I shall not discuss the newcomer program participants and my relationship with its members, or my relationship with Together Project and its partners, with any member of the media without expressed consent at each instance.
- I will respect and abide by my province’s Human Rights Code whenever interacting with the refugee newcomer household matched with my Welcome Group.
- I understand that the information I provide to Together Project may be used in the monitoring and evaluation of its programs, and that I may be periodically requested to provide feedback. My name or other identifying information will be password protected and anonymized.
