Manulife rolls up sleeves on volunteerism

Manulife Financial has teamed up with Volunteer Canada on a national campaign to enrich the volunteer experience for Canadians.

“Volunteering is fundamental to a healthy, democratic society so it is essential for the future of the sector that volunteers are more meaningfully engaged in Canada,” said Ruth MacKenzie, president and CEO of Volunteer Canada.

“Organizations who seek volunteers need to recognize that every action counts and that people should be able to contribute in ways that work for them – this extraordinary Matching Tool is just one of the resources Volunteer Canada and Manulife Financial will jointly unveil in 2011 to help us do just that.”

At the centre of the campaign is a new website – www.Getvolunteering.ca – which provides volunteer tools for the public and non-profit organizations. Among these offerings is the Matching Tool, which matches potential volunteers with organizations seeking volunteers.

Manulife and Volunteer Canada will sponsor the ‘Get Volunteering’ Facebook page which will integrate the Matching Tool. Users are challenged to build their volunteer ‘good-ometer’, which will earn points toward a $25 donation to one of six charities. Manulife will sponsor donations up to a maximum of $10,000.

“Volunteerism has always been part of who we are as a company,” said Nicole Boivin, senior vice-president of human resources and communications, Manulife Canada. “The driving force of Manulife’s commitment will be, and always has been, our employees and our advisors and their long tradition of giving back.”

Last year, Manulife employees donated more than 20,000 volunteer hours across Canada.