Volunteer Peterborough Founder Given Charity Village Impact Award

Lois Tuffin, Volunteer Peterborough founder, has seen her community work pay back dividends as she received Charity Village’s Most Outstanding Individual Impact – Volunteer announced on Tuesday.

olunteer Peterborough founder Lois Tuffin networks with Joseph Hughes of Kids Against Hunger at the Chamber's Love Local Show at Lansdowne Place in September. Since launching in July 2023, VolunteerPeterborough.ca has signed up 1,524 individuals who are seeking volunteer roles and 162 organizations who rely on volunteers. It welcomes postings about non-profits and the roles they have open so volunteers can find this information in one handy location. Photo courtesy of Volunteer Peterborough.

The award recognizes her work to resurrect a match-making service in Volunteer Peterborough to help local non-profits. It celebrates the outstanding impact of a volunteer at a nonprofit or charity.

“I nominated Lois to shine a spotlight on her work with Volunteer Peterborough,” said Hannah Routly, subcommitte group member. “In just over a year, Lois and a fulsome team created a much-needed way to match volunteers with critical roles in our community. I hope this award shines light on this vital initiative and encourages others to support this work.”

Tuffin had received several nominations from Jennifer DeBues, executive director of the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough; Jayne Culbert, co-ordinator of Age-friendly Peterborough and Volunteer Peterborough’s operations co-ordinator Genevieve Ramage.

“In the past year in particular, we’ve seen how much people want to help and how willing they are to act when given an outlet,” said Tuffin. “It’s gratifying to see our team come together to create this volunteer movement.”

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Hometown PTBO: Lois Tuffin Running the Meet Your Match Volunteer Fair at the YMCA On May 8

This week on Hometown PTBO, Pete Dalliday talks with Lois Tuffin about how she came to town, her favourite eats and Volunteer Peterborough's 'Meet Your Match Volunteer Fair' on May 8 at the YMCA from noon to 4 p.m.

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Volunteer Peterborough Launched to Provide Matchmaking Service For Volunteers and Organizations In Peterborough Region

An online portal matchmaking service for volunteers and organizations in Volunteer Peterborough was launched during an announcement at a Volunteer Expo at Trent University on Wednesday morning.

Tuffin was inducted into the Pathway of Fame in last during its 25th annversary under the Cultural/Community Betterment category.Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Volunteer Peterborough has been in production for a year to create partnerships to create the portal and matchmaking service. There are 50 organizations already available with another 50 coming next week with 175 volunteers signed up according to founder Lois Tuffin.

“We could encourage more of the best of Peterborough,” she said. “We could give people and make it easy for them to fall into volunteering and then fall in love with volunteering. That would be a way for us to move our community better.”

The online portal works like a dating or employment site that matches skills and times with groups’ needs with the volunteers. As of Oct. 10, these services will be available in person after an arrangement with the Peterborough Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce.

“Volunteers drive the success of large events,” explained Tuffin. “They also step up in times of crisis. Most of all, volunteers welcome new members into the community and deep in social relationships between people who have lived here their entire lives and those human connections have enriched so many lives. 

Tuffin continues to explain that after the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for volunteers increased which helped spark the conception of Volunteer Peterborough.

People stopped volunteering and organizers shifted so they moved volunteer managers to other roles because they didn't have anything to do,” she explained. “Some of those roles haven't been filled so agencies no longer have as much capacity to manage their volunteers so we're just trying to help them so that they can rebuild that membership and get those teams back up and running.”

The portal has volunteers for both in-person and virtual positions.

More information can be found by emailing info@volunteerpeterborough.ca or calling 705-930-2613.

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Jay Scotland and Lois Tuffin Make Quite a Splash

PtboCanada snapped these shots on the weekend of CHEX Newswatch weather anchor Jay Scotland and Peterborough This Week editor-in-chief Lois Tuffin on their way into the dunk tank as part of a fundraiser for Our Space.

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