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Get involved
We are looking for the first hands.
A foundation this new does not need much money yet. It needs people. If you can give a few hours a month anywhere between Vancouver and the eastern Fraser Valley, there is something here for you.
Volunteer
Roles we are recruiting for now.
You do not need experience for most of these. You do need to be reliable, because someone is counting on the thing happening.
Seva day volunteer
2 to 4 hours, occasional
Packing and delivering hampers, setting up and serving at community meals, running a donation drive table. The backbone of everything.
Driver
Flexible, occasional
Moving goods, and later taking elders to appointments. Requires a valid BC Class 5 licence, a driver's abstract and insurance arrangements we put in place first.
Punjabi and English interpreter
1 to 3 hours, by request
Sitting with a newcomer or an elder and helping them understand what is being asked of them. Quietly one of the most useful things anyone can do.
Teacher or tutor
Weekly, term based
Punjabi language, Gurmat and Gurbani study, or school tutoring for youth. Requires a criminal record check with vulnerable sector screening before you start.
Kitchen volunteer
4 to 6 hours, event based
Preparing and serving langar in a permitted commercial kitchen. We will pay for your FOODSAFE Level 1 certification.
Behind the scenes
1 to 4 hours a month, remote
Bookkeeping, grant writing, photography, social media, translation of our materials into Punjabi, or sitting on a committee. Tell us what you are good at.
What we ask of every volunteer, and what we owe you
From you: a signed role description with clear limits, a confidentiality agreement, a code of conduct, and a criminal record check with vulnerable sector screening if your role brings you into contact with children, seniors or people in a vulnerable situation.
From us: proper orientation, a named person supervising you, insurance in place before you start, reimbursement of out of pocket expenses, and a role that never puts you in a professional position you are not qualified to hold. You will never be asked to counsel anyone, to handle a disclosure of abuse alone, or to work unscreened with a child.
Register your interest
This form opens an email in your own mail app with your answers filled in. Nothing is stored by this website and nothing is sent until you press send yourself.
Would rather just talk?
Plenty of people would. Call or write and a director will get back to you.
- Phone
- 604 750 1389
If you speak Punjabi and would be more comfortable in Punjabi, say so and we will make sure the person who calls you back does too.
Partner or sponsor
We would rather join good work than duplicate it.
There are organisations across the Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver already doing much of what we care about, with staff, funding and credentials we do not have yet. Where that is true, our first instinct is to ask how we can help them rather than to start a competing version.
We are looking to work with:
- Gurdwaras and faith communities with permitted kitchens and halls we could use for langar and gatherings
- Food banks and hamper programs that need collection partners and volunteer crews
- Settlement and community health organisations already serving Punjabi speaking families
- Schools and shelters that can be trusted distribution points for hygiene and menstrual supplies
- Businesses that can sponsor a seva day, a hamper run or a piece of equipment
What a partner can expect from us
- A named contact and a written scope, so nobody is guessing who does what
- Volunteers who are screened, oriented and insured before they arrive
- Honest numbers, including when we fall short
- Your role described accurately in anything we publish, and never overstated
- No use of your name or logo without your written agreement
We will not claim a partnership that does not exist. Every organisation named on this website has agreed to be named.
Give goods
In kind donations.
Goods are genuinely useful to us right now, more useful than money in some cases. But there are things we are not allowed to accept, and it is kinder to say so before you fill a car.
Gladly accepted
- New, sealed, in date packaged food from a shop
- New toiletries and hygiene items, sealed
- New menstrual products, sealed and in date
- New socks, underwear, hats and gloves
- Clean, good condition warm clothing and blankets
- New school supplies and backpacks
- Gift cards for grocery stores, so a family can choose for themselves
Cannot be accepted
- Home cooked or home canned food of any kind
- Unpasteurised dairy or uninspected meat and game
- Opened packages, or anything past its date
- Infant formula or nutritional supplements past their date
- Leftovers from a buffet or an event
- Used mattresses, used undergarments, or damaged goods
- Medication of any kind
Before you drop anything off
We do not have a warehouse yet, so please call 604 750 1389 or email info@sevasangatfoundation.com first and we will arrange collection or a drop off point. Please also note that we cannot issue a tax receipt for donated goods, because we are not yet a registered charity.