Volunteer for MDA

Mood Disorders Association of British Columbia

Volunteer for MDA

Giving your time can help you feel better! Perhaps you are not ready to return to paid work or you just need to fill an empty time slot in your life. Volunteering can be a middle ground between not working at all and working for pay. Volunteering can also be a step on the ladder of returning to paid employment. There are many similarities between volunteering and being a paid employee; meeting your employer's expectations, getting along with co-workers, and getting a sense of accomplishment are all related to both working for pay and volunteering. These two activities are different in a couple fundamental ways. Volunteers do not get paid directly for their work and generally work a few hours a week or month, unlike regular staff who generally work full time or part time. Another difference that volunteers seem to experience is that often company employees are generally more understanding towards their volunteers; there is less pressure. Volunteering can include tasks like facilitating a support group, shredding paper for an office or helping prepare food at a community centre, the possibilities are endless. As volunteers, we are not getting paid directly for our work but there are other incentives and benefits that are not monetary. Getting tickets to community events, a t-shirt from the organization, a letter of reference and a productive few hours are all valuable assets to our lives. Volunteers who receive provincial disability benefits may apply for the Community Volunteer Supplement which offers up to $100 as a financial incentive to volunteer. There are organizations all over BC who need volunteers.

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Brightening the Day Program - Flower Delivery Help Needed

A flowering plant will lift the spirits of most patients in the hospital. It is a gift that people often take to cheer up a family member or friend...but people don’t often take plants to a psychiatric ward. MDA wants to brighten the day of patients who are in the psychiatric wards of our hospitals. Every second week we deliver plants to the following hospitals: Burnaby General, BC Children’s, Lions Gate, Peace Arch, Richmond, Royal Columbian, St. Paul’s, UBC, and Vancouver General. Thanks to very dedicated volunteers MDA is able to operate this program but right now we do need more volunteers. If you think you could spare about an hour of your time every other week to drop into the MDA office during the day and pick up a plant or two and deliver to one of the above mentioned hospital psychiatric wards please contact Vicki Rogers at training@mdabc.net or at 604.873.0103

*The Mood Disorders Association of BC thanks the Pacific Basket Company for their generous support of the Brightening the Day Program.

Burnaby Lake Greenhouses www.burlake.com

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MDA does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information.